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This is an archive article published on November 2, 2017
Brett Ratner sues woman for defamation over rape allegations
Brett Ratner has filed a complaint in Hawaii Federal Court denying the allegations and categorising the social media post as libel per se. His representative argued that the statements made by Melanie Kohler are entirely false, fabricated and fictional.
Brett Ratner announced that he is stepping away from all Warner Bros-related activities.
Emmy-nominated producer Brett Ratner has filed a defamation case against a woman, who claimed that he raped her more than a decade ago. The lawsuit comes after a woman named Melanie Kohler, made the allegations against the director in a Facebook post, calling him a “rapist” and saying the assault took place “in Hollywood about 12 years ago,” according to The Hollywood Reporter.
Brett Ratner has filed a complaint in Hawaii federal court denying the allegations and categorizing the social media post as libel per se. Eric Seitz, Brett Ratner’s Hawaii counsel, argued that the statements made by Melanie Kohler are entirely false, fabricated and fictional and that Kohler published them maliciously.
Brett Ratner is seeking an unspecified amount of general, special and punitive damages, and also claims that he’s suffered emotional distress, worry, anger and anxiety. Eric Seitz also shared that his professional, personal reputations have been injured by these allegations.
In light of these allegations, Brett Ratner announced that he is stepping away from all Warner Bros. related activities. The studio giant announced they would not renew Ratner’s first-look deal, which had since expired. In addition to Kohler’s allegations, six women, including actors Olivia Munn and Natasha Henstridge, claimed they were sexually assaulted or harassed by the director-producer. The Los Angeles Times has reported about incidents when Brett Ratner had aggressively pursued actresses, and sometimes even followed them into a bathroom.
Lately, Harvey Weinstein, Kevin Spacey, Dustin Hoffman, have also been slammed with charges of sexual harassment.
(With inputs from ANI)
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