'Wonder Woman' Director Patty Jenkins 'Extremely Distressed' Over Brett Ratner Allegations
With allegations of sexual misconduct continuing to swirl in Hollywood, "Wonder Woman" director Patty Jenkins distanced herself from film producer and financier Brett Ratner.
A Nov. 1 Los Angeles Times article revealed new accusations against Ratner (he has denied the allegations), and Jenkins was quick to issue a statement, as she had presented an award to just days before. The director had stepped in for Gal Gadot to hand over the Tree of Life Award to Ratner at the Jewish National Fund's Oct. 29 dinner. The event honored members of Hollywood for philanthropic work in Israel. During Jenkins's speech, she shared that Ratner had funded her thesis, something Steven Spielberg had once done for him.
In her statement Wednesday, Jenkins clarified that her Oct. 29 speech had described only her own experience with Ratner and that she had never seen or been aware of any misconduct. She made it clear she was "extremely distressed" by the "terrible allegations."
"When I spoke of Brett, I spoke of my own experiences of him, which were not these at all," she wrote in part. "I have never witnessed nor been aware of anything that is now being described. To be very clear, I am definitely not okay with this kind of behavior."
— Patty Jenkins (@PattyJenks) November 1, 2017
Jenkins has become a leader in Hollywood after the wild success of "Wonder Woman," and the movie's outstanding box office performance has been hailed as a feminist victory. On top of that, she held out for a major deal for the film's sequel, which will make her the highest-paid female film director ever. She joins numerous other heavy hitters in speaking out against those accused of sexual misconduct.
[via: Patty Jenkins/Twitter]