Disgraced Hollywood director Brett Ratner immigrates to Israel
Ratner posted a photo of his new immigrant passbook and captioned it with his name in Hebrew
Brett Ratner speaks at The Simon Wiesenthal Center’s 2017 National Tribute Dinner at The Beverly Hilton Hotel in Beverly Hills, Calif., April 5, 2017. (Frederick M. Brown/Getty Images)
By Ron Kampeas October 3, 2023
(JTA) — Brett Ratner, the director and producer of Hollywood blockbusters who is seeking a comeback from allegations of sexual misconduct, has emigrated to Israel.
Last week, Ratner posted an Instagram story showing the passbook that Israel issues to new immigrants, granting them tax breaks and other benefits. He captioned it in Hebrew, “Brett Shai Ratner.” He appears to have posted more recent Instagram stories from Israel, according to a report in Walla.
The Instagram posts came just a week after he published a photo of himself, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Sara Netanyahu and pro-Israel figure Alan Dershowitz together at the United Nations. Ratner and Dershowitz were special guests of Netanyahu at his speech to the body. The director was for a time a business partner with James Packer, the Australian media mogul who is close to the Netanyahu family.
Ratner — who directed blockbusters, including the “Rush Hour” series, and produced others, including “Horrible Bosses” — was swept up in the early wave of “#MeToo” allegations about powerful Hollywood figures. In 2017, six women accused Ratner of sexual harassment and misconduct. He denied all charges but major studios cut ties with him.
In 2021, Hollywood media reported that Ratner hoped for a comeback and was signed on to direct a biopic about Milli Vanilli, the early 1990s R&B duo who were revealed to be lip-syncing their songs. Pushback from women’s defense groups that arose out of the #MeToo movement led the production company to nix the project.
Ratner was well known as a supporter of Jewish and Israeli organizations and has been honored for his Jewish philanthropy and other humanitarian efforts.
In June, Variety reported that Bryan Singer — who directed big budget superhero films such as “X-Men” and who was also disgraced by #MeToo allegations — has been living in Israel in recent years and similarly seeking to revive his career.
This article originally appeared on JTA.org.
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