“Wonder Woman” star Gal Gadot has dropped out of an awards celebration honoring director and producer Brett Ratner.
Gadot was set to present the Tree of Life Award to Ratner at a dinner for the Jewish National Fund on Sunday at the Loews Hollywood Hotel. However, the actress backed out of the event within the last 24 hours.
Gadot’s representatives did not respond to repeated requests for comment about her decision. Ratner’s rep also declined to comment. Nina Gordon, a spokeswoman working on Sunday’s event, said the organization was told that Gadot had a scheduling conflict.
“Apparently she is stuck on promo stuff for ‘Justice League’ for China, and she’s not going to be back in time,” Gordon said. “We just found this out and everyone is scrambling.”
In an Instagram post on Friday, Gadot said: “That’s it for now, China. Thank you for having us.”
The news of Gadot’s withdrawl from Sunday’s event comes as leading Hollywood figures face increasing scrutiny in the wake of the Harvey Weinstein sex harassment scandal. Ratner was once accused of masturbating in front of actress Olivia Munn on a movie set. (Munn wrote about the incident in her memoir without identifying the director. Ratner later confirmed that she was referring to him, but denied that he masturbated in front of her. He also apologized for falsely stating that the two slept together.) Ratner is also close friends with director James Toback, whom more than 300 women have recently accused of sexual misconduct.
Gadot posted recently on Instagram saying “Bullying and sexual harassment is unacceptable! I stand by all the courageous women confronting their fears and speaking out. Together we stand. We are all united in this time of change.”
Reached on Thursday morning, Lou Rosenberg, the executive director of the the fund’s L.A. chapter, said he had not heard that Gadot would be canceling.
Ratner, the CEO of RatPac Entertainment, is known as a supporter of Jewish organizations. He serves on the board of the Simon Wiesenthal Center and the Museum of Tolerance. He is also an alumnus of the Jewish National Fund’s Alexander Muss High School in Israel, and sponsors a fellowship to send students to Israel.
Gadot, who is Israeli, was announced as a co-chair of the dinner in August.
Honorary co-chairs include Marty Singer, an attorney who has represented Ratner, as well as Millennium Films chairman Avi Lerner and Warner Bros. CEO Kevin Tsujihara.
Source: pagesix
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