The Justice Department has dropped its latest installment of Jeffrey Epstein files, and the internet has found Brett Ratner. In fact, one of the most jarring images to emerge features the Rush Hour director, and the worst part is that he is the man behind the upcoming Melania documentary.
In the photo, he can be seen posing with Jean-Luc Brunel, aka the late French model scout, who is accused of supplying underage girls to Epstein and the other criminals.
We must also note that this photograph is undated and lacks any context, like most of the materials released. But we do see Brett Ratner with his arm around Brunel’s waist. The Department of Justice released the image on Friday along with thousands of other documents tied to the Epstein investigation.
To be clear, appearing in the Epstein files does not automatically mean a crime was committed, and the DOJ itself has cautioned against coming to conclusions solely because someone is in one of the pictures. Many of the figures named or pictured have denied doing anything wrong, and no allegation is attached to Brett Ratner in the documents.
Brett Ratner, director of the new Melania documentary and the Rush Hour movies—recently demanded by Trump to be “resurrected”—has surfaced in the Epstein files. pic.twitter.com/k973iCAmHp
— Mykhaïlo Golub (@golub) December 20, 2025
Brett Ratner is now 56 years old and has often found himself in controversy. He pretty much vanished from Hollywood after 2017, when six women (including Olivia Munn) accused him of sexual harassment, assault, and r—. Of course, he denied those allegations, but projects evaporated, and the blockbuster director went quiet.
But Brett Ratner’s silence is now ending as he is making his first major return with Melania which is a $40 million Amazon MGM Studios documentary about First Lady Melania Trump. The film will be released in theaters on January 30, 2026, and is about the 20 days leading up to Donald Trump’s second inauguration in January 2025. As it turns out, Brett Ratner reportedly shadowed Melania Trump in 2024 to capture her return to the White House. And then Amazon beat out Disney and Paramount for the project with a price tag that caused almost as much of a stir as the Epstein files.
The timing could not be more revealing. On The View, host Alyssa Farah Griffin said she would not have advised placing the first lady “in the position of working with somebody who had that history,” and that Brett Ratner’s involvement made her question whether she even wanted to watch the film. Co-host Joy Behar quipped that Ratner seemed like the perfect fit and that the choice “tracks.”
Brett Ratner sexually harassed Olivia Munn, Natasha Henstridge, Elliot Page (with Anna Paquin being an eyewitness to Page), & more along with someone accusing him of rape
He lives in Israel & is friends with Netanyahu
Oh Brett Ratner is also mentioned in Epstein emails https://t.co/m89VfEO5DG
— Nicholas (@NicholasJLevi) November 25, 2025
Meanwhile, USA TODAY confirmed that Ratner appears in at least one Epstein-related photo with a shirtless Brunel. For context, Brunel died by suicide in a French jail cell in 2022 while facing charges of r—– a minor and supplying minors to Epstein.
President Donald Trump “un-canceled” the director to help Brett Ratner return to high-profile projects. We say that because other than Melania, he is also attached to Rush Hour 4, wherein he will be reuniting with Jackie Chan and Chris Tucker.
