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Filmmaker Brett Ratner accused by 6 Women of Sexual Misconduct
Brett Ratner (Photo by Michael Kovac/Getty Images for Jewish National Fund)
Six women have come forward to accuse director and producer Brett Ratner of sexual harassment or misconduct.
Ratner, who has had his hands in “Rush Hour,” “Horrible Bosses,” “X-Men: The Last Stand,” and “The Revenant,” has denied all of the allegations through his lawyer Martin Singer.
Natasha Henstridge, speaking to LA Times, said Ratner forced himself on her and forced her to perform oral sex on him. She said the incident took place in his apartment in New York. She said she was 19 at the time and Ratner was an upcoming music video director in his early 20s.
She said she fell asleep on his couch while seeing a movie with friends. She said when she woke up, the others had left. She said as she got up to leave, Ratner blocked the doorway with his body and wouldn’t budge.
“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,” she said.
Singer “categorically” debunked her story on behalf of his client.
Olivia Munn alleged that on the set of a movie in 2014, she, an upcoming actress had gone to serve him food in his trailer when he masturbated right in front of her. Munn wrote about the incident in her 2010 collection of essays without naming Ratner.
Munn entered Ratner’s trailer and quickly placed the food on a table. She said she was startled to find him inside (she had been told he wasn’t in). She tried to make a quick exit, but Ratner implored her not to leave.
“He walked out … with his belly sticking out, no pants on, shrimp cocktail in one hand and he was furiously masturbating in the other,” Munn said. “And before I literally could even figure out where to escape or where to look, he ejaculated.”
She said she let out a “startled scream” and ran out of the trailer to meet the man who told her to deliver the food. “It wasn’t a shock. It wasn’t surprise,” Munn said of the man’s reaction. “It was just, ‘Ugh, sorry about that.’”
LA Times reports that on a television show a year later, Ratner identified himself as the director, and claimed that he had “banged” her, something he later said was not true. The same year her book was published, Munn ran into Ratner at a party thrown by Creative Artists Agency and he boasted of ejaculating on magazine covers featuring her image, she told The Times.
She said she has decided to speak up to clear the false rumours, adding that it is also in support of women who are “brave enough to speak up”.
“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,” she said.
Munn’s allegations was also “vehemently” disputed by Singer.
Jaime Ray Newman said she sat next to him on a plane after he exchange seats with his assistant to be by her side.
“He was graphically describing giving me oral sex and how he was addicted to it,” Newman said, adding that she was so shaken by the encounter she had to tell her mother and friends.
Ratner described the Newman’s allegations as a “ridiculous claim”.
Katharine Towne said she met the director in L.A. around 2005 at a party in a movie star’s home, where he made unwanted advances.
She said he followed her into the bathroom after she had turned him down and excused herself.
“I don’t even know what you want with me. I’m kind of chubby right now,” she said, in a bid to get him away. “I like ’em chubby sometimes,” she said Ratner replied.
She was forced to give him her number. She said she declined to go on a dinner date with Ratner for the 6 months his assistant called.
Singer described Towne’s allegations as “absurd” saying “Even if hypothetically this incident occurred exactly as claimed, how is flirting at a party, complimenting a woman on her appearance, and calling her to ask her for a date wrongful conduct?”
4 people on the set of “Rush Hour” described sexually charged atmospheres between themselves and Ratner.
Eri Sasaki, 21 at the time said he offered to make her a movie star if she followed him into the bathroom.
Jorina King said he singled her out of a crowd of female extras, told her to come to his trailer and requested to see her breasts.
King said she rejected his request and hid in a restroom. “I figured if I could stay out of his eyesight, if I could stay away from him, he will forget about me and he will choose someone else, and that is exactly what happened,” King said.
“He feels entitled, that this is what he wants, this is how it is going to be, and this feels like normal business to him,” she added.
Singer called King’s claims “absurd” and “nonsensical.” “The movie was obviously already cast and shooting, so the notion that there would be a discussion of getting her a speaking role in the middle of a movie shoot is ridiculous,” Singer said.
Singer said: “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.”
Photo Credit: Michael Kovac/Getty Images for Jewish National Fund
