Brett Ratner is voluntarily dismissing his defamation lawsuit against a woman who claimed on social media that he raped her a decade ago after her attorney released a statement acknowledging the woman’s memory of the alleged incident isn’t clear, The Hollywood Reporter has confirmed.
Ratner in November 2017 sued Melanie Kohler, claiming her Facebook post that he “preyed on her” while she was drunk was untrue and malicious. A Hawaii federal judge in February allowed the suit to move forward after Kohler’s legal team moved to have it dismissed.
Kohler’s attorney Roberta Kaplan on Tuesday issued a statement to Deadline. “Cases like this are very difficult, especially when the events happened more than a decade ago and memories are cloudy and unclear,” she said. “The public conversation about this case has become very painful for Melanie. This result will allow Melanie to move on with her life and spend more time with her family.”
Kaplan is one of the founders of the Time’s Up Legal Defense Fund, and has said the idea to create such a resource came after she took on Kohler’s case.
Ratner’s attorney Andrew Brettler confirmed no money was exchanged as part of the settlement, and the producer sent THR a brief statement: “I’m happy that the matter has been resolved.”
Oct. 2, 3:55 p.m. Updated to include a statement from Ratner, in lieu of one from his attorney.
