Hoff man, top director latest to face allegations
NEW YORK — Hollywood’s widening sexual harassment crisis has ensnared a prominent film director after six women — including actress Olivia Munn — accused Brett Ratner of sexual misconduct in a Los Angeles Times report Wednesday.
Playboy Enterprises quickly distanced itself from Ratner as his attorney denied the allegations.
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 alleged in a Wednesday column in The Hollywood Reporter that the now 80-year-old actor groped her on the set of the 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 that could have put her in an uncomfortable situation. I am sorry. It is not reflective of who I am.”
Munn also complained about onset behavior, 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 Stand” and “Tower Heist.” He has an extensive relationship with Warner Bros.
Playboy Enterprises shelved any of its projects that involved Ratner, including working on a biopic of Hugh Hefner.
Ratner and Hoffman become the latest Hollywood figures to face allegations of misusing their power to harass actresses, and the crisis has widened to other areas of entertainment and media, including country music. Kirt Webster, a major country music publicist who has represented high-profile clients like Dolly Parton, Kenny Rogers, Kid Rock and Hank Williams Jr., had denied accusations that he sexually assaulted an aspiring country singer.
A former singer named Austin Rice says Webster groped his genitals, kissed him, made him strip naked and sexually assaulted him in 2008.
His firm, Webster Public Relations, on Wednesday changed its name to Westby Public Relations. A statement from the company said Webster is “taking time away from the business to focus on the egregious and untrue allegations.”
NPR news executive resigns amid allegations
The top newsroom executive at NPR resigned Wednesday, a day after he was placed on leave by the broadcast news organization following reports that he had harassed at least three women.
Michael Oreskes quit as senior vice president and editorial director at Washington-based NPR, the organization announced. The Washington Post reported Tuesday that two women had complained to NPR last month that Oreskes had abruptly kissed them while they were speaking with him about their job prospects almost two decades ago. At the time, Oreskes was the Washington bureau chief at The New York Times.