UPDATE: Gadot has confirmed that Rattner is no longer involved in Wonder Woman going forward, saying that it wasn't only her who thought he deserved the boot.
Wonder Woman was a big film, not only because it raked in $821 million worldwide, but because it did show while putting at its centre a smart and powerful central character with morals stronger than her metallic crown. Yes, her! But the sequel is in jeopardy, because Gal Gadot, who plays the titular role, is allegedly refusing to be involved so long as producer Brett Ratner or his RatPac-Dune Entertainment company is tied to the franchise.
A Warner Brothers source told Page Six: 'Brett made a lot of money from the success of Wonder Woman, thanks to his company having helped finance the first movie. Now Gadot is saying she won’t sign for the sequel unless Warner Bros. buys Brett out [of his financing deal] and gets rid of him.'
Why? Well, here’s a rundown. Ratner, 48, has long been accused by actress Olivia Munn of masturbating in front of him (he later bragged about sleeping with her, before denying they ever did) and this week she came forward to tell the LA Times that he also once told her at a Hollywood event that he’d masturbated over her magazine covers ‘and came all over them’. Five more actresses spoke to the paper to allege experiences of Ratner's sexual misconduct.
Natasha Henstridge said that in the early 90s, aged just 19, she was forced by Ratner into giving him oral sex.
Jaime Ray Newman, said that on a flight, Ratner made his assistant move so he could sit next to her, and he proceeded talk at her about sex, graphically detailing what he wanted to do to her.
Katherine Towne claims that at a Hollywood party, Ratner aggressively came onto her, following her into the bathroom at a house party and closing the door behind him. After she gave him her number, his assistant called her for the next six months, Towne alleges.
Eri Sasaki alleges that when she working as an extra on Rush Hour 2 aged 21, Ratner ran his index finger down her bare stomach - she was wearing a ‘skimpy’ outfit - and asked her to join him in the bathroom. After she declined, he responded ‘Don’t you want to be famous?’ He persisted, even offering Sasaki her own line in the film if she joined him.
Jorina King also worked on Rush Hour 2 as a background actress. Ratner picked her out of a group of women extras, she alleges, saying he wanted to give her a speaking part. The next day, she claims, he requested she join him in his trailer saying he needed to see her breasts.
An assistant on set attested to Ratner’s behaviour, adding that several women on the production had told him that Ratner had made them uncomfortable, asking to see their breasts or touch his penis.
And just this weekend, lesbian actress Ellen Page
that when she was 18 and on the set of X Men: The Last Stand, Ratner outed her, saying an older woman on set should sleep with her ‘to make she realise she’s gay’.
Ratner had enacted a ‘public, aggressive outing’ that made her feel ‘violated…I knew I was gay, but did not know, so to speak.’
Anna Paquin, who was a co-star on the film, supports Page's story, tweeting:
As well as all of Ratner's previous assistants denying that he would behave like this, Ratner’s lawyer, Marty Singer has denied all the allegations on behalf of his client, telling the LA Times ‘I have represented Mr. Ratner for two decades, and no woman has ever made a claim against him for sexual misconduct or sexual harassment,’ as if a man needs previous form to be guilty of anything. He added: ‘Furthermore, no woman has ever requested or received any financial settlement from my client.’ Perhaps you can’t buy someone’s innocence?
Warner Brothers and Ratner have already cut ties, and he has been moved off of the production of The Goldfinch, an adaptation of Donna Tarrt’s novel. However, when asked to comment on Gadot’s apparent threat, the company's spokesperson merely told Page Six ‘false’.
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This article originally appeared on The Debrief.