Following Raven-Symoné, Emily Ratajkowski Becomes The Latest Celeb To Clarify The Pronunciation Of Her Name
These days it seems like celebrities are blowing people’s minds more and more by revealing that we’ve been pronouncing their names wrong for years. Disney vet Raven-Symoné recently reopened to suggest fans actually mispronounced her name based on professional “advice” on what would be easier for audiences to say. Now, Emily Ratajkowski is the latest to clarify how her name is said, and it might make you think.
An Instagram video posted by fashion designer Tory Burch at her runaway fall/winter 2023 show featured an interview with model Emily Ratajkowski. When asked how to pronounce her last name, which is definitely not phonetic in nature, the answer she gave was probably not what English speakers would have expected.
There you have it. That’s really how Ratajkowski really stands out, representing the actress’ Polish-Israeli descent. So case closed? Probably not.
Just because we know how to say it doesn’t mean it will stick for some, least of all those who haven’t seen it. Since Emily Ratajkowski hasn’t talked much about correcting others on the pronunciation of names, it’s likely she doesn’t pay too much attention to it, but it’s still interesting and important that she shared this insight for posterity. I wonder how many times she has had to correct people in the past and how many times she will correct in the future.
It’s definitely frustrating to constantly have to ask others “well actually…” about the pronunciation of names, and it’s no doubt all the more annoying for the public, which is reported on by a multitude of different outlets and platforms. Not so much an issue in print, but video and TV make vocalizing that much more important, so hopefully everyone can get on the right side of things soon.
Celebrities and their names can sometimes spark debate when it comes to pronunciations, and when there’s confirmation, it can trigger a tidal wave of mixed reactions. (As if fan opinion is somehow essential to a person’s first name at birth.) But I have to say that it makes things entertaining to see people fall silent in shock when they realize they’re the screwed things up for so long.
Meanwhile, Emily Ratajkowski has made headlines for reasons other than her name. After her fling with Pete Davidson, she was spotted out with comedian Eric André and even spent Valentine’s Day drinking naked while they seemingly made their relationship official on Instagram. At least André’s name is easy to pronounce because I can’t imagine if she’s dated someone whose name is also difficult to pronounce or at least to spell.
Ratajkowski has a podcast, High low with EmRata, but she doesn’t always say her full name, and maybe people don’t have to constantly wonder how to say it, which wouldn’t be surprising. Plus, when interviewing stars like Bella Thorne, who opened up about her Disney days, the focus is more on the guests than on her. Maybe an upcoming episode of the podcast will be all about Hollywood mispronunciation? Because that would certainly be an entertaining episode.