The Predator star Olivia Munn and five other actresses have come forward with allegations of sexual harassment and misconduct against Brett Ratner, director of Rush Hour, Hercules and X-Men: The Last Stand.
In an exposé published by the Los Angeles Times, Munn claimed that when she visited the set of Ratner’s After the Sunset in 2004, the filmmaker masturbated in front of her. Indeed, the 37-year-old actress previously wrote about said incident as part of her book, Suck It, Wonder Woman!, though Ratner was not named at the time of publication.
The same year in which her novel was published, Brett Ratner came out and identified himself as the director, and later boasted about their sexual relationship – something Munn vehemently denies. Soon thereafter, Ratner came out and told Howard Stern that he lied about his sexual dalliance with Olivia Munn, but the “persistent false rumors” surrounding the situation, not to mention those other women “brave enough to speak up,” convinced Munn to come forward. And she’s not the only one.
“I’ve made specific, conscientious choices not to work with Brett Ratner. It feels as if I keep going up against the same bully at school who just won’t quit. You just hope that enough people believe the truth and for enough time to pass so that you can’t be connected to him anymore.”
Jamie Ray Newman, Katharine Towne, Jorina King, Natasha Henstridge and model Eri Sasaki have also come forward with allegations against Ratner. Henstridge, 43, accused Ratner of forcing her to perform oral sex on him when she was only 19-years-old.
“He strong-armed me in a real way. He physically forced himself on me. At some point, I gave in and he did his thing.”
Attorney Martin Singer, who spoke to the LA Times on Ratner’s behalf, disputed all accounts of sexual misconduct, stating that:
“I have represented Mr. Ratner for two decades, and no woman has ever made a claim against him for sexual misconduct or sexual harassment. Furthermore, no woman has ever requested or received any financial settlement from my client.”
In light of these damning claims, a spokesperson from Warner Bros., which has ties to Brett Ratner’s production banner, RatPac, confirmed that it is now investigating these allegations made by Olivia Munn and her fellow actresses.
“We are aware of the allegations in the LA Times and are reviewing the situation.”
Further details were not disclosed at the time of writing, but we’ll keep you updated as this situation surrounding Brett Ratner begins to unfold. Indeed, it’s a troubling time for Hollywood, what with the allegations against Harvey Weinstein, Kevin Spacey and, more recently, Dustin Hoffman.