Hollywood director Brett Ratner spoke out after his photo showed up in the latest documents about Jeffrey Epstein. He gave a simple reason for why he was photographed with the convicted sex offender around 20 years ago.
According to Fox News, Ratner told reporters that the mystery woman in the photo, whose name was hidden, was actually his former fiancée. He made it clear that he didn’t set up the meeting with Epstein. “About 20 years ago, I had a girlfriend. I was in love with her. We were engaged,” Ratner said about the photo going around. “She was my fiancée. We went to an event, and we were sitting on the couch, and the photo was taken at that event.”
Ratner didn’t hold back when talking about the rumors, calling them “crazy” and “horrible.” He said he had no personal relationship with Epstein. “I didn’t have a personal relationship with him. I didn’t know him,” Ratner stated.
Ratner denies any connection to Epstein amid online speculation
He said when the picture started spreading online, he wasn’t worried because he knew the full story. “Well, I thought, I knew who was the person in the photo,” he said. “So I wasn’t concerned about it at all. And I wasn’t concerned about what people were gonna say or not say, because the truth is the truth.” He pointed out that the woman was his girlfriend for five years.
The images released by the Department of Justice, which were part of millions of documents linked to Epstein, don’t show any wrongdoing by Ratner. The photo just shows him with his fiancée next to Epstein and the late French modeling agent Jean-Luc Brunel. The recent file release has brought attention to many public figures, including how Trump appeared in the documents.
While Ratner handles the old photos, he is also celebrating the success of his new documentary, Melania. The film looks at the 20 days before President Trump’s second inauguration, shown from the First Lady’s view.
Melania had huge success at the box office. The movie made $8 million during its opening weekend, the best performance for a documentary in over a decade. Amazon paid $75 million just for distribution rights and marketing, making this the most expensive documentary ever made.
The strong box office numbers came from a specific group of viewers. About 78% of ticket buyers were Americans over 55 years old, with women over 55 making up 72% of that group. The film also did very well in rural areas, bringing in 46% of the weekend sales. Florida, Texas, and Arizona had the most ticket sales. The Epstein documents have also revealed disturbing connections to Norway’s crown princess.
This success is a big career moment for Ratner since Melania is his first major film since he faced sexual misconduct claims in 2017. His lawyer denied all accusations made by six women, including Olivia Munn and Natasha Henstridge. Ratner is now focusing on new projects, and viewers have shown strong support for his latest work.
Published: Feb 3, 2026 12:15 pm