Brett Ratner accused of sexual misconduct by six women

over 6 years in NY Daily

Hollywood film producer Brett Ratner is being accused of sexual harassment and misconduct by six women — including actress Olivia Munn, according to a bombshell report.

Munn, along with actresses Katharine Towne, Jaime Ray Newman and Natasha Henstridge, each detailed Ratner's alleged inappropriate conduct toward them to the Los Angeles Times in an article published on Wednesday.

In Munn's account, she described delivering food to Ratner's trailer when she was starting out in L.A. back in 2004.

"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 told The Times. "And before I literally could even figure out where to escape or where to look, he ejaculated."

Munn immediately recounted the incident to her sister and tried to pursue legal action but was dissuaded by an attorney.

She also said the reaction of the man who had asked her to deliver the food wasn't a shock or surprise.

"It was just, 'Ugh, sorry about that,'" Munn, 37, recalled.

The "X-Men" star wrote about a similar encounter in her 2010 book, “Suck It, Wonder Woman!: The Misadventures of a Hollywood Geek,” but withheld names.

It came to light that she was referring to Ratner, 47, after he identified himself as her subject during an appearance on "Attack of the Show" — which Munn previously hosted.

"I used to date Olivia Munn, I will be honest with everybody here," he said. "When she was 'Lisa.' That was the problem. She wasn't Asian back then."

"I banged her a few times ... but I forgot her," he added.

Ratner later backtracked on his comments during an interview with Howard Stern, saying his comments about "banging" Munn were not true.

Ratner's longtime lawyer, Martin Singer, told The Times that the pair was in "an intimate relationship." Munn calls that "a complete lie," the L.A. Times reported.

Ratner, who has been romantically linked to Paris Hilton, Mariah Carey, Lindsay Lohan and Serena Williams, vehemently denied all of the accounts described to The Times in a lengthy letter provided to the publication by Singer.

"I have represented Mr. Ratner for two decades, and no woman has ever made a claim against him for sexual misconduct or sexual harassment," Singer said in the 10-page letter. "Furthermore, no woman has ever requested or received any financial settlement from my client."

Henstridge, who was a 19-year-old fashion model living in New York in the '90s, recalled being with friends at Ratner's New York apartment. She told The Times she fell asleep and when she awoke the two were alone.

The actress, who later starred in "Species" and "The Whole Nine Yards," said Ratner stopped her from leaving the apartment, started touching himself and forced her to perform oral sex.

"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."

Years later, Henstridge went to audition for "Prison Break," which Ratner executive produced, under the fear that he might be in the room.

"I had two young kids and had to go to work and make a living," the mother of sons, ages 16 and 19, said. "And he just acted like we were old friends from back in the day in New York, saying, 'I haven't seen you in years.' Auditioning is already bad enough. But trying to focus on the work, I just felt sick."

Henstridge did not get the part in the series.

Actress Jaime Ray Newman described meeting Ratner just one year after Munn's incident and said he described sex acts he wanted to perform on her in explicit detail.

"He was graphically describing giving me oral sex and how he was addicted to it," she said.

Katharine Towne, the daughter of "Chinatown' screenwriter Robert Towne, also faced an aggressive come-on by Ratner, she told The Times.

He reportedly followed her into a bathroom during a party at a movie star's home and made "unwanted advances."

She gave "The Revenant" producer her number to pacify him and his assistant persisted to call her for the next six months to set up a dinner date to no avail.

Singer said Towne's account was "absurd."

"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?" Singer said in a statement to The Times.

Several of Ratner's former assistants vouched for him to the Los Angeles Times, noting they would be "shocked" to find out these accounts were true.

"I think he's great. ... He's a family guy," Hopi Doubler, a former assistant, told The Times.

David Steiman, who worked for the Hollywood honcho from 1994 to 2004, said he never saw his boss behaving badly, adding that Ratner dated Rebecca Gayheart and Serena Williams during those years.

Arthur Sarkissian, who produced the "Rush Hour" franchise and helped launch Ratner's career, said he "horrified" to hear the allegations.

"I’m in a state of shock. I’ve known Bret for 22 years, maybe even 23, and he was best man at my wedding,” Sarkissian told Deadline. “I’m so sad and so disturbed right now because I don’t want this to be true. He’s a very likable guy. He is very loyal and has a heart of gold. I have never ever seen him grope, grab or do anything of the sort. Has he been flirtatious? Yes. I’ve seen him flirt, but I cannot believe what I’m reading. I cannot believe that he would stand there with a shrimp in one hand and … I just can’t believe it. I’m really horrified."

Sarkissian added that Ratner has done some "really dumb things in the past," but he just "thinks he's funny.

"He sometimes thinks that being aggressive on a point that it would make a better point. I just can’t comprehend this. I’m sitting here asking if this could be true from someone I've known for so long," the producer added.

The two men have been working closely together on "Rush Hour 4," which Ratner is slated to direct.

At least three other women recalled being sexually harassed by the producer to The Times.

In 2011, Ratner, who produced the "Rush Hour" flicks, stepped down from producing the Oscars after making a gay slur when asked if he rehearses with actors on his films.

"Rehearsing is for f--s," he said at the time.

Ratner is the latest Hollywood figure to be accused of sexual misconduct in recent weeks — Harvey Weinstein, Kevin Spacey and James Toback are all facing allegations as well.

Italian actress Asia Argento, who accused Weinstein of forcefully performing oral sex on her, called out Ratner on Twitter after the L.A. Times piece was published.

"Weinstein himself crowned you king of the pigs, @BrettRatner," she wrote, along with a picture of the two men high-fiving. "Looking forward to hear your lame excuses/apologies for your hideous crimes."

Warner Bros., which partners with Ratner's company RatPac, said they are "reviewing" the allegations.

"We are aware of the allegations in the LA Times and are reviewing the situation," WB said in a statement to Deadline.

Playboy Enterprises announced on Wednesday that they would put Ratner's upcoming Hugh Hefner biopic on hold in the wake of the allegations.

"We are deeply troubled to learn about the accusations against Brett Ratner. We find this kind of behavior completely unacceptable,” a Playboy spokesperson told TheWrap in a statement. ” We are putting all further development of our projects with RatPac Entertainment on hold until we are able to review the situation further.”

Oscar-winning actor Jared Leto had reportedly been tapped to play Hef, but in light of the allegations, he revealed that had never been the case.

"Jared Leto is not and was not attached to a Brett Ratner directed Hugh Hefner film, nor will he be working with him in the future. Earlier reports were incorrect and not confirmed by his representatives," Let's rep told Deadline.

Ratner was presented the Tree of Life award by the Jewish National Fund on Sunday by "Wonder Woman" director Patty Jenkins.

The film's star, Gal Gadot, was initially supposed to present Ratner with the award, but did not appear over what her publicist said was a scheduling conflict.

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