The allegations of sexual harassment and assault first surfaced around the director in the fall of 2017.
The Time’s Up Foundation issued a statement in response to news that Hollywood director and producer Brett Ratner has announced a new feature film project. Marking his first directing job since “Hercules” in 2014, a newly announced Milli Vanilli film would be Ratner’s first project since sexual harassment and robberies in October 2017 of several women, including Olivia Munn and Natasha Henstridge.
Tina Tchen, president and CEO of the Time’s Up Foundation, released the following statement: “Time’s Up was born out of the national calculation of sexual harassment in the workplace. Our movement is the product of countless acts of courage by many survivors, including those who spoke about what they endured at the hands of Brett Ratner. “
The project announced earlier this week is a partnership between Millennium Media and Ratner’s RacPac Entertainment.
“Ratner not only never acknowledged or apologized for the damage he caused, but he also filed lawsuits in an attempt to silence the voices of the survivors who came forward – a tactic taken from the predator’s manual. You can’t go away for a few years and then resurface and act like nothing has happened. We have not forgotten – and we will not – forget. Millennium Media shouldn’t be either. There should be no return. #wewontforgetbrett ”
Ratner is also credited as the director behind “Rush Hour 2”, “Red Dragon”, “X-Men: The Last Stand”, “Tower Heist” and more. Warner Bros. severed relations with Ratner in November 2017 after the charges, which included Elliot Page accusing Ratner of exposing the then 18-year-old as early as 2006, in front of onlookers, including Anna Paquin. Other charges followed.
Ratner has since denied the claims. According to Deadline, he was included in Milli Vanilli’s biopic for more than a decade. It was originally established at The Kennedy / Marshall Company.
Ratner had more legal battles, including an alleged sexual assault involving the victim Melanie Kohler. The legal dispute ended in 2018. Kohler claimed that Ratner chased her in 2004 or 2005 while she was drunk at a club and took her back to the home of actor Robert Evans, where she claimed he raped her. Ratner assaulted her with a defamation suit that was closed.
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