Harrassment crisis widens
Hollywood sex accusations now levied at Ratner, Hoffman
Hollywood’s widening sexual harassment crisis has ensnared a prominent film director after six women - including actress Olivia Munn - accused Brett Ratner of sexual assault or misconduct in a Los Angeles Times report on Wednesday.
The reverberations also reached back 32 years as Oscar-winner Dustin Hoffman came forward to apologize for allegedly sexually harassing a 17-year-old intern in 1985.
Writer Anna Graham Hunter alleges in a Wednesday column in The Hollywood Reporter that the now 80-year-old actor groped her on the set of TV movie “Death of a Salesman’’ and “talked about sex to me and in front of me.’’
Hoffman issued a statement Wednesday, apologizing for “anything I might have done could have put her in an uncomfortable situation. I am sorry. It is not reflective of who I am.’’
Munn also complained about onset behaviour, alleging that while visiting the set of Ratner’s “After the Sunset’’ in 2004, he masturbated in front of her in his trailer. Munn described the incident, without naming Ratner, in a 2010 collection of essays.
Ratner’s lawyer issued a statement Wednesday in which he said the director “vehemently denies the outrageous derogatory allegations’’ and is “confident that his name will be cleared once the current media frenzy dies down and people can objectively evaluate the nature of these claims.’’
Ratner directed the “Rush Hour’’ film series, “Red Dragon,’’ ‘’X-men: The Last Stans” and “Tower Heist.” Warner Bros., which has a first-look deal with Ratner, said in a statement: “We are aware of the allegations in the LA Times and are reviewing the situation.”
The LA Times report describes other encounters where Ratner aggressively pursued actresses, sometimes following them into a bathroom.
Ratner and Hoffman become the latest Hollywood figures to face allegations of misusing their power to harass actresses, a list that now includes producer Harvey Weinstein and writer-director James Toback. Harassment allegations have also been levied against actors Kevin Spacey and Jeremy Piven.
Police in Beverly Hills on Tuesday announced they have launched criminal investigations over complaints received about Weinstein and Toback. Weinstein also is being investigated for sexual assault or rape by police in Los Angeles, New York and London.