Warner Bros. on Wednesday said that it was “reviewing” its deals with Brett Ratner following an L.A. Times report in which six women accused the filmmaker of sexual harassment and other misconduct.
In a statement to TheWrap, a Warner Bros. spokesperson said, “We are aware of the allegations in the LA Times and are reviewing the situation.”
Ratner, with his RatPac Entertainment banner, has a first-look deal with the studio, including a film co-financing pact. RatPac Entertainment rents office space on the lot.
Actresses Natasha Henstridge and Olivia Munn are among Ratner’s accusers — Henstridge says 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, the “Newsroom” actress 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. Singer did not immediately respond to TheWrap’s request for comment on the allegations or for the “10-page letter” the lawyer sent to the L.A. 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,” Singer said in that letter. “Furthermore, no woman has ever requested or received any financial settlement from my client.”
“The Punisher” actress Jaime Ray Newman and Katharine Towne (“What Lies Beneath”) also shared their Ratner stories in the piece, as did “Rush Hour 2” background actresses Eri Sasaki and Jorina King. Read the full Los Angeles Times story here.
The 48-year-old Ratner is the director of the “Rush Hour” movies and an executive producer on “The Revenant,” “Horrible Bosses” and TV’s “Prison Break.”
Ratner, whose RatPac production company was founded with billionaire investor James Packer, has seen his films gross more than $2 billion worldwide.