Controversy Surrounding Brett Ratner Revisted as His Hollywood Return Looms

The controversy surrounding Hollywood producer and director Brett Ratner has resurfaced amid talk that he may return to Los Angeles. The entertainment industry executive is most popular for the Rush Hour franchise, and rumor is that a fourth film could be in the works.

President Donald Trump is a fan of the movies starring Chris Tucker and Jackie Chan, and he reportedly has asked the owner of Paramount Pictures, his billionaire friend Larry Ellison, to push for the project. If Rush Hour 4 is made, there is a good chance that Brett will be involved. So, what is so controversial about his return?

The controversy surrounding Brett Ratner stems from the director being accused of sexual misconduct by six women back in 2017, according to The Los Angeles Times. Species actor Natasha Henstridge claimed that the director forced her to perform oral sex on him inside his apartment. It was the 1990s in New York City when she was a 19-year-old model.

Actor Katharine Towne also claimed he harassed her at a party back in 2005. She said he followed her into a bathroom and aggressively made a pass at her.

Eri Sasaki, Jorina King, and Jaime Ray Newman also say they had sexually charged encounters with the executive. His attorney, Martin Singer, denied the claims.

"I have represented Mr. Ratner for two decades, and no woman has ever made a claim against him for sexual misconduct or sexual harassment," said the lawyer. "Furthermore, no woman has ever requested or received any financial settlement from my client.”

Olivia told Monica Lewinsky on her podcast, Reclaiming With Monica Lewinsky, that she was offered a lot of money to keep mum about her interactions with the disgraced director while working on the 2004 film After the Sunset. The actor claimed that the director came out of his bathroom in his trailer without his pants on while he was "furiously masturbating.” She also said he lied when he claimed on TV that he'd slept with her.

"There were things that happened on this movie set, personally to me, that were really not OK, and it was so traumatic that I had to file complaints with the studio," she recalled. "It got to this place where I was offered a lot of money, a lot of money — seven figures — to accept their apology. But it came along with an NDA."

Olivia refused to take the money and did not sign the NDA.

"I said to him, ‘I know this is a lot of money to you, but it is not a lot of money for me to lose my voice.’ And we walked out of there, and I remember feeling so proud when I walked out.'"