The leading lady discusses her fight for justice in the Hollywood system in the #MeToo era.
Olivia Munn will not be silenced.
On Sunday, the Predator actress was honored at the First Annual #GirlHero Awards in Beverly Hills, California, where ET’s Lauren Zima chatted with her about the decision to speak out about her claims of being a victim of alleged sexual misconduct, allegedly from producer-director Brett Ratner, who has vehemently denied the allegations.
“My situation [that] came out with Brett Ratner is a bit different than a lot of the other stories," she said. "Because in 2010, I had written a book and I had written a chapter about it and I disguised him in it for legal reasons and then the next year, on his own volition, he claimed himself in that book and he went on to lie about me. And then just a few days after that he went on the Howard Stern Show and admitted that he lied about me and that was in 2011.”
“Then, just a few years later, he [finalized] this huge, you know, few hundred million dollar financing deal with Warner Bros.,” she continued. “So… it wasn't that long ago, people just didn't care. He admitted it to people, laughed it off and they keep going and he keeps getting bumped up higher and higher into these positions of authority and power.”
The book she’s referring to is Suck It, Wonder Woman! The Misadventures of a Hollywood Geek, in which she details a troubling alleged incident between her and a then-unnamed individual. The Los Angeles Times later released a story that included allegations from five other women directed at Ratner. He once again denied the allegations but has since "stepped away" from all Warner Bros.-related activities.
When Ratner went on Stern's SiriusXM show in 2011, he claimed he had a romantic relationship with Munn in the past and apologized for his lies, per the New York Daily News.
While speaking with ET over the weekend, Munn doubled down on her drive for justice in the industry and using her voice and stature to shine a light on abuse.
“So I was never quiet and I've never been really the kind of person that you can silence,” Munn said. “That's how I've been my whole life, since I was a kid... In 2011, [Ratner] was able to admit these things, lie about me, try to defame me and then keep, you know, getting more powerful and now all of the sudden this past year there's a consequence and you can't hurt women. You can't disrespect them, you can't keep turning blind eyes and allowing this kind of abuse to go on.”
The actress also played an integral role in shining a light on the casting of Steven Wilder Striegel, a registered sex offender, whom she shared a scene with in The Predator, which was ultimately cut from the film.
Check out our full interview up above.
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