LOS ANGELES. — Disgraced Hollywood filmmaker Brett Ratner, who has been accused of multiple counts of rape, moved to Israel last month, only a week after being hosted at the United Nations by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
According to the Walla News site, Ratner, a major donor to Jewish causes and the director behind the “Rush Hour” films, “X-Men: The Last Stand” and other blockbusters, had been invited to attend the Prime Minister’s speech during the General Assembly and even met with Netanyahu on the sidelines of the diplomatic gathering.
A photograph, posted to Ratner’s Instagram account shows him standing behind the Netanyahus at the UN, his hand on the Prime Minister’s shoulder and his other arm around attorney Alan Dershowitz. In 2017, six women accused Ratner of sexual harassment or misconduct in an article published in the Los Angeles Times.
The women, who were all actresses at the time, included Natasha Henstridge and Olivia Munn.
Henstridge alleged that Ratner forced her to perform oral sex on him when she was 19. Munn described several encounters with Ratner, including one in which he masturbated in front of her.
Playboy Enterprises quickly distanced itself from Ratner as his attorney denied the allegations and Wednesday Warner Bros. severed ties with the director.
Ratner was notably previously business partners with James Packer, an Australian billionaire businessman who stands at the center of the so-called Case 1000 against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Ratner is not the only Hollywood bigwig to leave for Israel in the wake of career difficulties following sexual misconduct allegations.
The Usual Suspects and X-Men director Bryan Singer, who was accused of having sex and raping several underage men, also currently lives in Israel.
According to a recent report in Variety, Singer is currently “looking to return to his lower-budget auteur roots with three narrative features set in and around Israel.”
Many Americans accused of sexually abusing children flee to Israel to escape justice — and bringing them back can be tough, according to a 2020 CBS News investigation citing research by Jewish Community Watch, a U.S.-based organisation that tracks accused pedophiles. -msn