Hollywood director Brett Ratner has offered an explanation for his appearance in photos released in the US Department of Justice’s latest Jeffrey Epstein file dump.
One photo showed Ratner – who has helmed blockbusters including the Rush Hour franchise and X-Men: The Last Stand – embracing a woman, whose identity was redacted.
Next to her was Epstein, and a second woman, also redacted.
During an interview with Fox News Digital, the Melania director explained that the mystery woman in the picture was an unnamed former fiancée.
‘About 20 years ago, I had a girlfriend. I was in love with her. We were engaged. She was my fiancée. We went to an event, and we were sitting on the couch, and the photo was taken at that event,’ Ratner explained.
He went on to insist that he ‘didn’t have a personal relationship with him’ and ‘didn’t know him’, in relation to the late convicted sex offender and paedophile Epstein.
‘And that’s where the picture was taken. I didn’t remember because I had been asked in the past, “Do you know him?” And I’m like, “I don’t think so, because I didn’t have a personal relationship with him.”’
He continued: ‘My fiancée invited me to that event. At the time, the girl in the picture was my fiancée. And that’s it. That’s all.’
‘You get thrown into these things. It’s crazy. It’s horrible,’ Ratner concluded.
Ratner was in a relationship with tennis star Serena Williams from 2004 to 2006 and had previously been in a long-term relationship with actress Rebecca Gayheart from when they were teenagers.
The photo was released by the American DOJ along with millions of documents linked to the late sex offender, who died in custody in 2019 while awaiting trial on sex-trafficking charges.
Ratner’s most recent documentary film, Melania, which follows the 20 days before President Donald Trump’s second inauguration from the first lady’s perspective, was released on 30 January.
It is Ratner’s first major movie since he faced sexual misconduct allegations in 2017 and since 2014’s Hercules, starring Dwayne Johnson.
Six women, including The Newsroom star Olivia Munn and The Whole Nine Yards’ Natasha Henstridge, accused the director of sexual assault and harassment, including him allegedly masturbating in front of Munn and forcing Henstridge to perform oral sex on him.
Ratner’s lawyer at the time denied all allegations made against his client.
While Melania outperformed box office expectations in the US, bringing in roughly $7million (£5.1m) domestically during its opening weekend, it’s reportedly the most expensive documentary ever made, with Amazon thought to have spent $40m (£29m) on the rights and a further $35m (£25.5m) on marketing.
In the UK, it opened at number 29 on the box office chart, with an overall taking of £32,974.
On Rotten Tomatoes it has a measly score of just 6% from critics, putting it below the likes of renowned stinkers including infamous 2019 flop Cats.
The Guardian’s one-star review called the film ‘pure, endless hell’ while The Independent described it as ‘ghastly propaganda’ and the first lady a ‘preening, scowling void of pure nothingness’.
However, it has an overwhelming 99% from audience members, who are beginning to log their reactions.
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