In a twist of events surrounding the newly released Melania documentary, its director, Brett Ratner, finds himself linked to a controversial figure through a recently surfaced photograph. This image, part of the latest document release by the Department of Justice, shows Ratner standing alongside Jeffrey Epstein.

Speaking to Piers Morgan on Monday, Ratner addressed the situation, clarifying that his encounter with Epstein was limited to that single occasion. The director, recognized for his longstanding contributions to Hollywood, is seen in the photograph with his arm around a woman, whose identity remains obscured. Another woman, also with her face blurred, is seen with Epstein.

Ratner declined to disclose the identity of the woman by his side, referring to her only as his ‘fiancée.’ Diving into the context of the image, he shared, “That particular photograph was taken about 20 years ago at an event my fiancée invited me to.” He emphasized that the encounter was a one-time occurrence, stating, “I had no previous or subsequent contact with Jeffrey Epstein. It’s simply a picture of me with my fiancée at an event.”

He wouldn’t reveal the name of the woman he was with in the photograph, only describing her as his ‘fiancée.’ 

‘Oh, well, that picture in particular happened around 20 years ago, 19, 20 to 21 years ago, because it’s a photograph of my fiancée, who invited me to this event, and that’s where the picture was taken,’ Ratner told Morgan. 

‘I’ve never been in contact with Jeffrey Epstein before that photo and I was never in contact with him after. So that’s a picture of me and my fiancée at some event,’ the Melania director added.

Ratner, who directed the Rush Hour franchise and one of the X-Men films, has had a high-profile dating history, which included actresses Rebecca Gayheart and Maggie Q, as well as tennis star Serena Williams – but wasn’t dating any of these celebrities during that time period.

‘She doesn’t want me sharing her name in the case,’ Ratner said of the mystery woman. ‘But that’s my fiancee, 100 percent, was my fiancee. … 20 years I was engaged to her when that photo was taken.’

Melania director Brett Ratner (right) embraces a woman he identified as his former ‘fiancee’ in an undated photograph with serial pedophile Jeffrey Epstein (center left) and another woman. Ratner told Piers Morgan Monday that he only met Epstein that one time

Director Brett Ratner poses at Thursday night’s Melania premiere in Washington, D.C., which took place at the newly renamed Trump-Kennedy Center. The next day a photograph of him with Jeffrey Epstein was released by the Department of Justice 

‘Those photos are from over 20 years ago, from an event I attended with my then-fiancée, who I’m pictured with. I did not know Jeffrey Epstein and do not recall having any subsequent contact with him,’ a spokesperson for Ratner also told the Daily Mail.

Ratner’s only public engagement was with Gayheart, but they broke up in 1999.

He dated Williams from 2004 to 2006.

Another image of Ratner was included in the Epstein files, where the director is hugging Jean-Luc Brunel, a French modeling agent and longtime friend of Epstein, who was found hanged in a Paris jail cell in 2022 while awaiting trial for rape and sexual assault of minors.

Ratner is wearing a white button-down shirt and jeans in both photographs. 

The director had a mainstream Hollywood career until he was hit with a #MeToo scandal in 2017, with several women coming forward and accusing Ratner of sexual misconduct. 

He’s largely not worked in Hollywood since. 

Ratner got involved in Trumpworld after the 2024 election, when Melania’s adviser Marc Beckman called him ‘out of nowhere’ to schedule a meeting between the director and the former and future first lady.

‘He didn’t really want to reveal too much, and then when I asked him what it was, he said, oh, she’d like you to do a documentary,’ Ratner said in an exclusive interview last week with the Daily Mail. 

Brett Ratner (right) poses with Jean-Luc Brunel (left) in an undated photograph released by the Department of Justice in December. Ratner is wearing a similar outfit in this picture as the one from the recent release of Epstein files

Ratner had never directed a documentary before.

‘So I was a little surprised, but he goes no, she has a big idea,’ he recalled. 

Ratner signed onto the project after meeting with Melania at Mar-a-Lago and filmed it for 20 days leading up to the inauguration in 2025. 

He attended Thursday night’s premiere at the newly-renamed Trump-Kennedy Center and was also spotted by the Daily Mail attending the New Year’s Eve party at Mar-a-Lago. 

Melania made $7 million in ticket sales during its opening weekend in the U.S. and Canada, making it the best-performing theatrical release for a documentary, outside of concert films, since 2012.  

On Monday, President Donald Trump continued to reel over the Epstein files – and false assertions that he ever traveled to the pedophile’s private island. 

Epstein has become politically problematic for the president since he returned to office last January.