Time is still up for director Brett Ratner, argues the foundation fighting for “a world where everyone is safe and respected at work.”
Ratner, who has been accused by multiple women, including Olivia Munn, of sexual harassment and misconduct, has landed a biopic about pop duo Milli Vanilli, Deadline reported Friday.
The movie, in collaboration with Millennium Media, would be the first feature directing gig for the “Rush Hour” director since 2014's “Hercules and is expected to include the group’s hits from the late 80s and early 90s before their lip sync scandal caused a quick downfall.
But not everyone is ready for Ratner, 51, to get back to work.
“Time’s Up was born out of the national reckoning on workplace sexual harassment. Our movement is a product of countless courageous acts by many survivors, including those who spoke out about what they endured at the hands of Brett Ratner,” Tina Tchen, president and CEO of the Time’s Up Foundation, said in a statement Saturday.
“Not only did Ratner never acknowledge or apologize for the harm he caused, but he also filed lawsuits in an attempt to silence the voices of survivors who came forward – a tactic right out of the predator’s playbook. You don’t get to go away for a couple years and then resurface and act like nothing happened. We have not — and will not — forget. And Millennium Media shouldn’t either. There should be no comeback.”
Among the alleged victims who came forward was Munn, who told the Los Angeles Times that Ratner masturbated in front of her in 2004 while she was visiting the set of his movie “After the Sunset.” Munn detailed the incident in 2010 in an essay without naming Ratner, who identified himself a year later and claimed he had “banged” the then-aspiring actress.
“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 newspaper in 2017. “And before I literally could even figure out where to escape or where to look, he ejaculated.”
Actress Natasha Henstridge told the Times that Ratner forced her to perform oral sex on him when she was 19 and at least four other women also leveled similar accusations.
Ratner denied all allegations of misconduct.
