Brett Ratner, a director already known for his inflammatory opinions, is the latest in a string of prominent Hollywood figures being accused of sexual misconduct.
The Los Angeles Times released the stories of six women Wednesday morning, all of whom accuse the Tower Heist director of “aggressive, abusive, and unwanted sexual behavior” at various points in his career. The reports add Ratner’s name to the growing list of Hollywood men facing scrutiny for similar activities in the wake of studio head Harvey Weinstein’s scandal—director James Toback and Kevin Spacey are among those also being named.
In the Times story, actor Olivia Munn claims that when she visited Ratner on the set of his 2004 film After the Sunset, he masturbated in front of her in his trailer while holding a shrimp cocktail. Munn also published the story in her 2010 memoir Suck It, Wonder Woman!: The Misadventures of a Hollywood Geek, but omitted Ratner’s name at the time. In 2011, he appeared on her former talk show Attack of the Show and revealed himself as the director in question, but denied ever masturbating in front of her in the trailer and claimed that he had “banged her a few times.” Munn denies ever having a relationship with Ratner, and told the Times that he continued to harass her when she’d encounter him at events afterward. In one instance, Ratner told her he had purchased copies of a magazine with her face on the cover and ejaculated onto them.
I know a woman who was too scared to go on record for this story. I stand with them all. This is not easy to do. https://t.co/RoKbC7TRtE
— Amber Tamblyn (@ambertamblyn) November 1, 2017
In the same Times report, actor Natasha Henstridge describes an incident with Ratner in the ’90s, when she was a 19-year-old model and he was a music video director. After falling asleep during a party and waking up alone in a room with him, Henstridge attempted to leave, but Ratner blocked the doorway, and forced her to perform oral sex. “He strong-armed me in a real way,” Henstridge said. “He physically forced himself on me. At some point, I gave in and he did his thing.”
@nytimes #HarveyWeinsten is not the only major hollywood predator out there, that's for sure, I know first hand
— Natasha Henstridge (@nathenstridge) October 13, 2017
Warner Brothers is reportedly reviewing a $450 million deal it has with Ratner’s company in light of the allegations.