LAPD detectives will be sitting down with the L.A. County District Attorney next month to go over a huge number of files involving alleged sexual misconduct … and there are 3 famous people who will be at the top of the pile based on the number of…
Showing posts with label Ratner. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Ratner. Show all posts
Friday, January 12, 2018
Wednesday, January 3, 2018
Brett Ratner Accuser Says Defamation Suit Is Meant to Intimidate Other Women
Brett Ratner is singling out one of his accusers in court in an effort to silence other women from coming forward … this according to the woman he’s suing for claiming he raped her. Melanie Kohler fired back at Ratner’s defamation lawsuit against…
Friday, November 17, 2017
Natasha Henstridge Hopes Brett Ratner, Harvey Weinstein See Jail
Brett Ratner and Harvey Weinstein in orange jumpsuits, locked up behind bars … is what justice looks like for Natasha Henstridge. We got Natasha at LAX Thursday and asked if she thinks Weinstein and Ratner have faced enough…
Friday, November 10, 2017
Ellen Page: Brett Ratner Outed Me, Was a Disgusting Creep
We already know that more than six women have accused Brett Ratner of sexual harassment and worse. Following the initial story, more women began contacting publications with their own allegations against the director.
The latest woman in Hollywood to share her #MeToo story was Ellen Page. And she describes experiencing horrifying, homophobic harassment from Ratner while she was still a teenager.
And Ellen’s experience with Brett Ratner isn’t the only one that she’s sharing from her teenage years in the entertainment industry.
Ellen’s lengthy post on Facebook begins … bluntly.
“‘You should f–k her to make her realize she’s gay.’ He said this about me during a cast and crew ‘meet and greet’ before we began filming, X Men: The Last Stand. I was eighteen years old.”
“He looked at a woman standing next to me, ten years my senior, pointed to me and said: ‘You should f–k her to make her realize she’s gay.’ He was the film’s director, Brett Ratner.”
That’s disgusting.
In case there’s any doubt, costar Anna Paquin has tweeted that she stands with Ellen Page, and was present for that particular comment.
Ellen continues:
“I was a young adult who had not yet come out to myself. I knew I was gay, but did not know, so to speak. I felt violated when this happened. I looked down at my feet, didn’t say a word and watched as no one else did either.”
Ellen Page is one of the most famous young gay women in Hollywood, but sexuality is complicated. Deciding when to come out is more so.
No one should be outed, particularly in such a disgusting way.
“This man, who had cast me in the film, started our months of filming at a work event with this horrific, unchallenged plea. He “outed” me with no regard for my well-being, an act we all recognize as homophobic.”
That wasn’t the end of it.
“I proceeded to watch him on set say degrading things to women. I remember a woman walking by the monitor as he made a comment about her “flappy pussy.””
Ugh.
“This public, aggressive outing left me with long standing feelings of shame, one of the most destructive results of homophobia. Making someone feel ashamed of who they are is a cruel manipulation, designed to oppress and repress. I was robbed of more than autonomy over my ability to define myself.”
Remember, there are still young actors whoa re advised against coming out when they get to Hollywood.
Sexuality can influence your career. It can also impact how fans perceive you.
(In recent decades, the prevalence of the name “Ellen” has taken a plunge exactly twice — once, when Ellen DeGeneres came out. Another when Ellen Page came out. Bigotry is still all around us)
“Ratner’s comment replayed in my mind many times over the years as I encountered homophobia and coped with feelings of reluctance and uncertainty about the industry and my future in it. The difference is that I can now assert myself and use my voice to to fight back against the insidious queer- and transphobic attitude in Hollywood and beyond.”
It’s so good that she uses her platform to make the world a better place.
“Hopefully having the position I have, I can help people who may be struggling to be accepted and allowed to be who they are –to thrive. Vulnerable young people without my advantages are so often diminished and made to feel they have no options for living the life they were meant to joyously lead.”
There was more between her and Brett Ratner, however.
“I got into an altercation with Brett at a certain point. He was pressuring me, in front of many people, to don a t-shirt with ‘Team Ratner’ on it.”
Who would want to wear a shirt like that?
“I said no and he insisted. I responded, ‘I am not on your team.’ Later in the day, producers of the film came to my trailer to say that I ‘couldn’t talk like that to him."”
This is where the huge power imbalance between young actors and big-name directors comes into play.
“I was being reprimanded, yet he was not being punished nor fired for the blatantly homophobic and abusive behavior we all witnessed. I was an actor that no one knew. I was eighteen and had no tools to know how to handle the situation.”
Sadly, her experience at 18 wasn’t Ellen’s first foray into harassment in Hollywood.
“I have been a professional actor since the age of ten. I’ve had the good fortune to work with many honorable and respectful collaborators both behind and in front of the camera.”
But …
“But the behavior I’m describing is ubiquitous. They (abusers), want you to feel small, to make you insecure, to make you feel like you are indebted to them, or that your actions are to blame for their unwelcome advances.”
Sadly, that is so true.
“When I was sixteen a director took me to dinner (a professional obligation and a very common one). He fondled my leg under the table and said, ‘You have to make the move, I can’t."”
Probably so that he could, if caught, throw up his hands and say “she came onto me!” Which shouldn’t matter.
But, by our reasoning, groping someone’s leg and telling her to make a move is the first move and the second.
Ellen Page got away, but it was a rude awakening about her professional life.
“I did not make the move and I was fortunate to get away from that situation. It was a painful realization: my safety was not guaranteed at work.”
Let that sink in for a moment.
“An adult authority figure for whom I worked intended to exploit me, physically.”
And it got worse.
“I was sexually assaulted by a grip months later.”
Horrible. No one should have to endure that.
“I was asked by a director to sleep with a man in his late twenties and to tell them about it. I did not. This is just what happened during my sixteenth year, a teenager in the entertainment industry.”
Ellen Page almost seems to count herself lucky — when she talks about others in Hollywood who have been preyed upon and died too soon.
“Look at the history of what’s happened to minors who’ve described sexual abuse in Hollywood. Some of them are no longer with us, lost to substance abuse and suicide. Their victimizers? Still working. Protected even as I write this.”
Naming abusers — even if we all know who we’re talking about — carries heavy risks. Massive lawsuits, blackmail conspiracies. A sternly worded legal letter can be enough to make some claims go away.
We’ve recently heard new claims about Corey Haim’s abusers, but unfortunately Ellen Page could be talking about so many different young victims of predatory men in power.
“You know who they are; they’ve been discussed behind closed doors as often as Weinstein was. If I, a person with significant privilege, remain reluctant and at such risk simply by saying a person’s name, what are the options for those who do not have what I have?”
That’s a good point. We shouldn’t shame people for remaining silent out of fear.
But we can still praise Ellen Page for coming forward with her #MeToo story.
Tuesday, November 7, 2017
Brett Ratner Dodging Hollywood Backlash at Famous L.A. Restaurant
Brett Ratner and Kevin Spacey have something else in common besides mounting sexual assault allegations against them — their pretty mugs are still front and center at a famous Hollywood joint. The disgraced director/producer’s face…
Thursday, November 2, 2017
Brett Ratner Fights Back, Sues Woman for Defamation Over Rape Allegations
Brett Ratner is suing a woman who claims the director raped her in L.A. over a decade ago … calling the allegations a total lie. According to the suit … Melanie Kohler claimed in an October 20 Facebook post, “Brett Ratner raped me” and continued…
Wednesday, November 1, 2017
Brett Ratner: Olivia Munn, 5 Others Accuse Director of Rape, Harassment
You may not be familiar with the name Brett Ratner, but if you’re a movie fan, you’ve almost certainly encountered his work.
In addition to directing the popular Rush Hour series and X-Men: The Last Stand, Ratner has produced more than 70 film and television titles as head of RatPac-Dune Productions, including The Revenant, Prison Break, and Horrible Bosses.
In other words, he’s nearly as successful as Harvey Weinstein–and it sadly, it seems the similarities between the two moguls don’t end there.
This morning, the LA Times published a scathing report in which six women–including prominent actresses Olivia Munn and Natasha Henstridge–accuse Ratner of sexual misconduct ranging from harassment to rape.
Henstridge recounts an incident in the early 1990s, in which Ratner reportedly 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,” she tells the newspaper.
Munn recounts a number of appalling incidents involving Ratner, including one that she first revealed several years ago.
In her 2010 memoir, Munn recalled an incident in which Ratner masturbated in front of her on a film set.
He then falsely claimed to have had sex with Munn and told the actress that he’s ejaculated on magazine covers with her photo.
“I’ve made specific, conscientious choices not to work with Brett Ratner,” Munn tells the Times.
“It feels as if I keep going up against the same bully at school who just won’t quit,” she adds.
“You just hope that enough people believe the truth and for enough time to pass so that you can’t be connected to him anymore.”
Actress Asia Argento, who alleges she was raped by Harvey Weinstein has tweeted about the connections between Ratner and the founder of the Weinstein Company:
“Weinstein himself crowned you king of the pigs, @BrettRatner. Looking forward to hear your lame excuses/apologies for your hideous crimes,” she wrote this morning.
Marty Singer, an attorney for Ratner, penned a letter to the Times, in which he states that his client “categorically” disputes the allegations against him.
“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 writes.
“Furthermore, no woman has ever requested or received any financial settlement from my client.”
Ratner has not yet responded to the allegations personally.
We’ll have further updates on this developing story as more information becomes available.
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