Director-producer Brett Ratner has been accused of sexual harassment or misconduct by six women. The Los Angeles Times this morning published a report detailing allegations from actresses including Olivia Munn and Natasha Henstridge against Ratner.
Henstridge alleges that Ratner forced her to perform oral sex on him at his New York apartment during an encounter in the early 1990s. "He strong-armed me in a real way. He physically forced himself on me," she said. "At some point, I gave in and he did his thing."
Munn describes a series of encounters with Ratner, including one occasion when she was visiting the set of his 2004 movie After the Sunset, still an aspiring actress at the time. When she brought food to his trailer, Munn alleges, Ratner emerged from the bathroom wearing no pants and "furiously masturbating." A year later, Ratner claimed during a TV appearance that he had "banged" Munn – a statement for which he later apologized on Howard Stern's radio show. Munn also told the Times that Ratner had bragged to her about ejaculating on magazine covers that featured her image.
"I've made specific, conscientious choices not to work with Brett Ratner," Munn said. "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."
Actresses Katherine Towne, Jamie Ray Newman, Eri Sasaki, and Jorina King also described sexually inappropriate encounters with Ratner to the Times.
Ratner, through his attorney Martin Singer, "categorically" denied the allegations to the Times: "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."
