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Victims of sexual harassment in Hollywood continue to tell their stories. Now, allegations have surfaced against Brett Ratner — a filmmaker best known for directing the "Rush Hour" trilogy. Warner Bros. cut ties with the director later in the day.
Six women — including actresses Olivia Munn, Natasha Henstridge and Katharine Towne — have made allegations against Ratner describing sexual harassment or misconduct.
Amy Kaufman and Daniel Miller broke the story for the Los Angeles Times. Miller spoke with The Frame's John Horn.
MILLER: The allegations range from aggressive come-ons, and then in the case of Natasha Henstridge, she has alleged that Brett Ratner forced her to perform oral sex in the 1990s.
Ratner is a prominent figure in Hollywood. He co-founded the movie production and financing company, RatPac-Dune Entertainment, which had a contract with Warner Bros. studios.
MILLER: In 2013, RatPac-Dune inked a $450 million co-financing deal with Warner Bros. Warner has now said — in the wake of our story about these alleged incidents with Ratner — that it is reviewing its relationship with Ratner ... that is likely going to be a relationship that is going to be scrutinized in the coming days.
Ratner's company has been involved with many hit films, including "Gravity," "The LEGO Movie," "American Sniper," "The Revenant" and many others.
One of Ratner's former partners is U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, who sold his interest in RatPac Entertainment earlier this year.
Ratner was scheduled to produce and direct a biopic about Hugh Hefner. but Playboy Enterprises announced that its relationship with the filmmaker is now on hold.
Ratner’s lawyer, Martin Singer, has denied the validity of all the allegations to the Los Angeles Times. We reached out to Singer for comment but received no response.
In a 10-page letter to The Times, Singer said: “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.”
This story has been updated.