Representatives for Oscar winner Jared Leto say that reports that he was attached to play Hugh Hefner in Brett Ratner’s biopic about the Playboy founder are false.
“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,” Leto’s reps said in a statement. A person familiar with the situation told TheWrap that the confusion stemmed from Ratner’s mention of being in talks with Leto at an event, but said that no official agreement was ever made.
The clarification comes after the Los Angeles Times released an expose on Ratner in which six women accused him of sexual harassment and assault. As TheWrap first reported, Playboy has put all projects between their production banner, Alta Loma Entertainment, and Ratner’s Ratpac-Dune Entertainment on hold in the wake of the report. Ratner had been attached to direct the film, and Hefner was attached as executive producer prior to his death on Sept. 27.
Actresses Natasha Henstridge and Olivia Munn are among those who accused Ratner, with Henstridge saying he “forced her to perform oral sex,” while Munn says Ratner masturbated in front of her in his trailer when she went to deliver a meal. Years later, Munn said she ran into Ratner at a CAA party, where he boasted of ejaculating onto magazine covers featuring her image. Ratner, through his attorney Martin Singer, disputed the accounts.