'Love Wedding Repeat': How the Brett Ratner sex scandal threatened to derail Olivia Munn's journey to stardom
American actress Olivia Munn, who was born in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, began her career in TV journalism before she took up acting. Munn who was raised in Tokyo, Japan, for the most part, appeared in local theater productions latest becoming a mode in the Japenese fashion industry. After moving to Los Angeles to pursue acting, and after taking over small roles, she was recognized when she laded the roles of Mily Acuna on 'Beyond the Break', a Hawaii-lensed TV series in 2006 and as Rob Schneider's receptionist in 'Big Stan' in 2007.
Munn, 39, rose to fame with HBO's 'The Newsroom' and Comedy Central’s 'The Daily Show' along with movies such as 'Ocean’s 8' and 'X-Men: Apocalypse.' However, despite achieving success as an actress and activist, Munn hasn't had the easiest time in Hollywood.
In 2017, Munn was one of the six women who accused Hollywood director Brett Ratner of sexual misconduct in a Los Angeles Times report. Munn alleged that in 2004, when she was still an aspiring actress, she was asked to deliver a meal to director Ratner's trailer while on the set of 'After the Sunset.' After being informed that Ratner would not be in his trailer, she was surprised to have found him pantless eating shrimp cocktail.
“He walked out … with his belly sticking out, no pants on, shrimp cocktail in one hand and he was furiously masturbating in the other. And before I literally could even figure out where to escape or where to look, he ejaculated," Munn said. Munn was encouraged by her sister to speak with a lawyer but was told that it was "inadvisable for her to try to go up against such a powerful director."
“That did leave an impact on me. How broken do women have to be before people listen?" Munn said. In 2010, Munn wrote of the incident in her book, titled, 'Suck It, Wonder Woman! The Misadventures of a Hollywood Geek' but she had not mentioned names or specific details. In an appearance on 'Attack of the Show,' Ratner claimed the shrimp-and-masturbation story, as per Rolling Stone.
Asked whether he was the unnamed director in question, Ratner said, "This is the truth."
“I used to date Olivia Munn, I will be honest with everybody here. When she was ‘Lisa.’ That was the problem. She wasn’t Asian back then. … I banged her a few times … but I forgot her," he added. However, Ratner backtracked on his claims just a few days later after the appearance.
In 2019, Munn revealed that was part of an emotionally abusive relationship. At the Forbes Under 30 Summit in Detroit, Munn said that she can't strike a balance with work and personal life. “I was doing things unconsciously. I was in a relationship that was emotionally abusive. I thought you just had to gut it out,” Munn told ForbesWomen editor Maggie McGrath at the event. “Being a minority and a woman, it is ingrained in us to tough things out. We think life is supposed to be tough.”
On a much more positive note, Munn is set to star in the upcoming Netflix movie, 'Love Wedding Repeat' that is to release Friday, April 10, 2020. She will play the "hot girl" that nerdy Sam Claflin, brother of the bride, is in love with. We had earlier reported everything you need to know about the upcoming release, including the plot that reads, "The story sees three alternate versions of the same wedding unfold as Jack (Claflin) tries to make sure his little sister has the perfect day. At the same time, he has to juggle an angry ex-girlfriend, an uninvited guest with a secret, a misplaced sleeping pill and unexpectedly reuniting with the girl of his dreams who got away, Dina (Munn). If he succeeds, Jack might find a happy ending of his own."