Brett Ratner's Milli Vanilli biopic dropped by production company after Time's Up criticism
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Olivia Munn and Multiple Women Accuse Film Producer Brett Ratner of Sexual Misconduct
Movie producer Brett Ratner has been accused of multiple cases of sexual misconduct or harassment — including by actresses Olivia Munn and Natasha Henstridge
The production company Millennium Media is no longer involved in Brett Ratner's planned Milli Vanilli biopic, the filmmaker's first project as director since he was accused of sexual misconduct in 2017.
Deadline reported last week that Ratner had lined up a film about the pop duo, a longtime passion project for the Rush Hour director. Ratner's RatPac Entertainment was set to produce along with Millennium, the company behind upcoming comic book movie Red Sonja, which was initially slated to be directed by Bryan Singer.
The day after the news broke, Time's Up released a statement condemning Ratner, declaring, "There should be no comeback" for him.
"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," the statement said. "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."
In a joint statement to the Hollywood Reporter and other outlets Wednesday, RatPac and Millennium did not address the criticism but said, "On the heels of the announcement of the long gestating Milli Vanilli movie, the project fielded multiple competitive bids and a group of private equity investors have emerged that are fully financing the movie to begin production shortly." They added that Millennium would not "be involved in the production."
In November 2017, seven women, including Olivia Munn and Natasha Henstridge, accused Ratner of sexual harassment and misconduct, leading Warner Bros., where the filmmaker had a first-look deal, to cut ties with Ratner shortly thereafter. The filmmaker has denied the allegations and, as the Time's Up statement notes, sued a woman who accused him of raping her for defamation. (Ratner later dropped the lawsuit.)
Ratner has not directed a film since 2014's Hercules, which starred Dwayne Johnson as the mythical hero. Representatives for the filmmaker did not immediately respond to EW's request for comment.
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