Brett Ratner Accused of Sexual Misconduct: Olivia Munn, Natasha Henstridge Share Gross Stories
Six women have come forward accusing "Rush Hour" and "X-Men: The Last Stand" director Brett Ratner of sexual harassment or misconduct.
The women spoke with the Los Angeles Times in the wake of the Harvey Weinstein scandal, which has emboldened more people -- especially in the entertainment industry -- to go public with their own experiences.
Actress Olivia Munn has had a few run-ins with Ratner. She told the L.A. Times that, when she was still an aspiring actress in 2004, she visited the set of his film "After the Sunset," and was asked to drop off some food in Ratner's trailer. She said she was told Ratner would not be there. Instead, she went inside, put the food down, and found Ratner inside. Munn tried to leave, but she said he asked her not to.
Here's more of her story:
"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."
Munn said she let out a "startled scream" and raced out of the trailer. She said she immediately told the man who had asked her to deliver the food. His reaction? "It wasn't a shock. It wasn't surprise," Munn recalled. "It was just, 'Ugh, sorry about that.'"
Munn said she left the set and called her sister, Sara Potts, who urged her to speak with a lawyer. Potts confirmed Munn's account.
The attorney dissuaded her from going up against a powerful director as a fledgling actress, so she did nothing."
She did write about what happened, with no names, in her book, "Suck It, Wonder Woman! The Misadventures of a Hollywood Geek." Ratner later said, on "Attack of the Show," that he had "banged" Munn a few times and forgot her. He later went on Howard Stern's show to apologize, saying he had never slept with Munn. "I said I banged her three times, which wasn't true."
Munn also ran into Ratner at a CAA-hosted party, and he asked her "Why do you hate me?" She said it was more of a dislike.
Ratner grew angry, she said, and responded: "Why? I bought 10 of your magazines and came over all of them."
Ratner's lawyer, Martin Singer, said the director "has no recollection of making such a statement." But others who were there at the party told the Times they heard it, or were immediately told about it.
For actress Natasha Henstridge, it was worse. When she was a 19-year-old model, Henstridge said she and a group of people went to watch a movie at Brett Ratner's New York apartment. She fell asleep on the couch, and when she woke up she was alone with Ratner. Here's more of her story:
"She got up to leave, Henstridge said, but he blocked the doorway with his body and wouldn't budge. He began touching himself, she said, then 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."
Henstridge never reported the incident to the police, but three other people in her personal life confirmed to the Times that she had told them the story.
Ratner's attorney "categorically" disputed all of the accounts:
"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 a 10-page letter to The Times. "Furthermore, no woman has ever requested or received any financial settlement from my client."
Gal Gadot was supposed to give Ratner the Jewish National Fund's annual Tree of Life Award at a gala in Hollywood on Sunday. But as the L.A. Times was reporting for this new story, Gadot's publicist said she would not appear at the event due to a scheduling conflict. Instead, "Wonder Woman" director Patty Jenkins presented Ratner the award.
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