Time’s Up organisation, the movement against sexual harassment at workplace, condemned accused filmmaker Brett Ratner’s decision to return to films.
On February 19, Deadline Hollywood reported that Ratner will return to films with his “long-time passion project about pop duo Milli Vinilli”. This came after The Rush Hour director laid low for a few years after seven women in November 2017, including actors Olivia Munn and Natasha Henstridge, accused him of sexual misconduct and harassment. As a result, Warner Bros. cut off all ties with Ratner, whose last release was the 2014 film Hercules. Following the allegations, Ratner, whose company was involved in co-financing a superhero film, was also dropped from Wonder Woman 1984, as per NME.
Millennium Media is reportedly teaming up with Ratner’s RatPac Entertainment on a Milli Vanilli biopic, and is launching sales ahead of the upcoming virtual European Film Market, reported Deadline.
🛑 There should be no comeback for #BrettRatner. 1/2 https://t.co/09JCOwdkME
— TIME'S UP (@TIMESUPNOW) February 20, 2021
Time’s Up released a statement condemning Ratner’s plan on Sunday.
No remorse, no accountability, no comeback. #wewontforgetbrett https://t.co/5oayEqrzg2
— Tina Tchen (@TinaTchen) February 21, 2021
President and chief executive officer Tina Tchen said in the statement, “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.”
She added, “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. #wewontforgetbrett”
Ratner had filed a defamation suit against Melanie Kohler who, in 2017, had accused the former in a Facebook post of allegedly raping her in 2005. The suit was dismissed in 2018 after both Ratner and Kohler were said to have agreed to “move on”, reported Deadline. Kohler had also taken down the post later but stood by her statement.
The Time’s Up movement, initiated in 2018, is an offshoot of the #MeToo movement after Harvey Weinstein was called out by several female actors in Hollywood for sexual harassment.
