Newly released files show Tisch alum and former Deans’ Council member Brett Ratner side-by-side with Jeffrey Epstein — with emails indicating that Ratner said he “loves” him in 2012, four years after the sex offender pled guilty to soliciting prostitution for minors.
A series of photos from an unknown date depict Ratner sitting on a couch with Epstein, both men embracing women whose faces have been redacted. In a May 2012 email, Epstein’s publicist Peggy Siegal, who was at a documentary screening with Ratner at the time, told the financier “Brett says hi and he loves you!” Earlier this month, Ratner denied knowing Epstein and said he had no “personal relationship” with him.
At least seven women accused Ratner of sexual misconduct or assault at the height of the #MeToo movement in 2017, but he denied the allegations and did not face any charges. He graduated in 1990 and served as a Dean’s Council member at the Tisch School of the Arts between 2007 and 2009, a position that advises the school’s leadership and provides philanthropic support.
In October 2023, Ratner reposted a WSN article about a congressional report alleging “antisemitic student activities” at NYU, saying he was “disappointed” in his alma mater and will “never” donate again. He moved to Israel that same year, where he sat on the board of directors of the film school at Tel Aviv University — which collaborates with NYU through a joint research institute and program allowing NYU Tel Aviv students to take TAU courses and conduct lab research.
Epstein tried to contact Ratner in 2010 and 2011 through a third party and acknowledged Ratner’s sexual assault allegations in a 2017 email chain. Ratner was also named in Epstein’s calendar of meetings for December 2018.
In an interview with Fox News, Ratner said the woman beside him in the photo was his former fiance, who invited him to one of Epstein’s events sometime around 2006. Model Alina Puscau, who Ratner reportedly dated around that time, also dated Epstein, who helped kickstart her modeling career through his relationship with former CEO of Victoria’s Secret Leslie Wexner.
Before Ratner’s sexual assault allegations led to Warner Bros. severing its $450 million co-financing deal with his production company, Ratner directed box office successes including the “Rush Hour” series, “X-Men: The Last Stand,” “Red Dragon” and “The Family Man.”
After nearly a decade without any releases, Ratner returned to directing with “Melania,” a documentary featuring the first lady 20 days before President Donald Trump’s second inauguration. The film was released on Jan. 30 and made over $14 million, though it reportedly cost Amazon $40 million to acquire the rights with an additional $35 million spent on marketing.
Ratner’s production company did not respond to multiple requests for comment.
Contact Jason Alpert-Wisnia at [email protected].