Try as they might, Donald Trump and his wife, Melania, can’t escape their ties to the Epstein Files and people who have been involved in bad sexual behavior. They may have thought the heat was finally off the director of the newly released Melania documentary. It had been years since Brett Ratner had been run out of Hollywood after several women accused him of serious sexual misconduct.
Olivia Munn alleged he masturbated in front of her on a film set. Natasha Henstridge said he physically forced her to perform oral sex. In the initial Los Angeles Times report, six women came forward to report Ratner, with other accusations surfacing later. For those uncertain, forcing someone to engage in any penetration is considered rape in most states, including California.
It was 2017, during the height of the “Me Too Movement,” and the backlash was immediate. Warner Bros. terminated its multi-million dollar production deal with Ratner. His planned Hugh Hefner biopic was canceled. Agencies and industry partners severed ties, effectively pushing Ratner out of Hollywood. He wouldn’t direct another major film for almost a decade, and then Donald Trump came along.
Trump pushed Paramount Pictures to greenlight Rush Hour 4 (Ratner directed the first three). At the time, Paramount was seeking FCC approval to complete a merger with Skydance, and Paramount did all it could to make Trump happy, including paying a $16 million settlement in a lawsuit over a 60 Minutes interview that legal scholars say Paramount would have won. Ratner had known Trump since 2011, when the film Tower Heist was filmed at Trump Tower.
Given Ratner’s history, it was only natural that the Trumps would go to him to direct the Melania documentary. He was the only person considered for the job. Melania Trump signed on as an executive producer shortly after the 2024 presidential election, giving her direct control over selecting the director. Ratner was officially announced as director in January 2025 when Amazon MGM Studios revealed the project publicly.
Lest you think the Melania documentary was a straightforward project with no grift involved, the project had a $40 million rights budget, with approximately $28 million going directly to Melania regardless of box-office success. Another $35 million was spent on marketing, bringing the total to $75 million. Different industry trackers placed opening-weekend sales at $1–8 million, with theaters reporting near-empty auditoriums. Several locations have already canceled future screenings, including the entire country of South Africa and Minneapolis, Minnesota. There is no scenario in which Melania the documentary breaks even, but Melania Trump still gets to keep $28 million.
It looked like Ratner was getting back to his everyday life and career. With the Melania project and Rush Hour 4, he hoped people would forget his past escapades, but then his picture turned up among those released in the Epstein files. The photo shows Ratner standing with Jean‑Luc Brunel, the French modeling agent who was later charged with sex crimes and was a close associate of Jeffrey Epstein.
Brunel was a French modeling agent who became one of the most controversial figures connected to Epstein’s network. His career, alleged crimes, and death form one of the darkest chapters in the modeling industry. Brunel spent decades as a powerful figure in international modeling. He was the founder of Karin Models in Paris and co‑founder of MC2 Model Management, which received financial backing from Epstein.
For years, multiple models accused him of coercion, secretly drugging models, sexual assault, and trafficking young women through his agencies. Many of these allegations dated back to the 1980s and 1990s, long before the Epstein case resurfaced. Brunel was one of Epstein’s closest associates in the modeling world. Investigators alleged that he supplied Epstein with young models and used MC2 to move girls internationally. Brunel denied all accusations, including that he abused girls himself, but French police considered him a major suspect in Epstein‑related trafficking.
Brunel was arrested in Paris on December 16, 2020, on multiple serious charges connected to the Epstein investigation. French authorities had been building a case against him for years, and his arrest was considered one of the most significant developments after Epstein’s death. Brunel was eventually charged with the rape of a minor over 15 years old, which was the central criminal charge at the time of his arrest.
He was also charged with sexual harassment, including allegations from models who said Brunel used his position to coerce or intimidate them. Brunel was not formally charged with trafficking, but he was placed under investigation for human trafficking of minors for sexual exploitation.
Brunel died in circumstances remarkably similar to Epstein, found hanging in his cell in an apparent suicide while awaiting trial. His death was less than three years after Epstein’s death, leading to widespread speculation.
To be fair, there is no evidence that Brunel and Ratner were close. There is no evidence that Brunel and Donald Trump were close, though they ran in the same personal and professional circles. Trump was close to John Casablancas of Elite Model Management, who was also accused of exploiting young models. All were close to Epstein, which is something Trump surely didn’t want brought up in connection with the Melania documentary.
Having worked so hard to restore Ratner’s reputation in Hollywood, it must have come as a blow that Ratner appeared in the Epstein files, bringing up a subject Trump wants closed. Then again, should the rest of the Epstein files ever come out, a photo of Brett Ratner might be the least of the president's worries.