It is worth noting that Robin Thicke's 2013 "Blurred Lines" single came out well before the #MeToo movement, which went viral when actress Alyssa Milano tweeted about it in October 2017. The trend encouraged women to speak out about their experiences with sexual harassment and assault, bringing discussions of rape culture into the mainstream. Thicke's lyrics, like "I hate these blurred lines... I know you want it" and "Do it like it hurt... What, you don't like work" may have promoted that culture, with listeners calling it "rapey," according to The Guardian's Dorian Lynskey.

Thicke, in a July 2013 interview with The Daily Star (via Digital Spy), insisted the song was just "throwaway fun" as well as a celebration of female sexual empowerment. "Pharrell [Williams] and I... have a lot of respect for women. So the way we were seeing it is, 'I know man tries to domesticate you but you're an animal, you are just like any man,'" he elaborated.

In July 2015, Thicke maintained his stance that "Blurred Lines" didn't degrade women or promote rape. He told The New York Times, "I have never and would never write a song with any negative connotation like that." The singer suggested that the music video for the song tainted its actual lyrics for people with its inclusion of nudity. "Once the video came out, that changed the conversation," Thicke observed.

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