Disgraced director Brett Ratner, who faced multiple sexual misconduct allegations in 2017, is making his Hollywood comeback with a feature-length documentary about Melania Trump. The film, titled Melania, will premiere on Thursday night at Washington DC's Kennedy Center.
Ratner’s career was derailed after a former talent agency employee accused him of rape in October 2017. Six other women, including actresses Olivia Munn and Natasha Henstridge, later came forward with allegations of sexual misconduct. Munn claimed Ratner masturbated in front of her on set, while Henstridge alleged he forced her to perform oral sex. Ratner denied all allegations and has never faced charges.
Following the accusations, Warner Bros terminated his multi-million-dollar production deal and Playboy cancelled his planned Hugh Hefner biopic. His last theatrical release was over a decade ago. However, Ratner’s relationship with Donald Trump, dating back to filming Tower Heist at Trump Tower in 2011, has revived his fortunes. He now lives in an eight-bedroom house at Mar-a-Lago and has been commissioned for additional Trump projects, including a documentary on the Abraham Accords.
Paramount has also greenlit Rush Hour 4, a sequel to Ratner’s blockbuster trilogy, after the president personally requested it. Ratner rose to fame with the original Rush Hour in 1998, which grossed $245 million on a $35 million budget. He had earlier made his feature debut with Money Talks in 1997.
Throughout his career, Ratner surrounded himself with controversial figures, including writer James Toback, who was recently ordered to pay $1.7 billion to 40 women who accused him of sexual abuse, and Roman Polanski, who fled the US after pleading guilty to unlawful sex with a minor in 1977.
