EXCLUSIVE: Melania Trump's Epstein Shame as Scandal-Mired Director of Her Panned Documentary is Snapped With Pedo and Part of His 'Harem' of Women
Brett Ratner appears in the latest Epstein files drop.
Feb. 4 2026, Published 4:30 p.m. ET
Melania Trump has been left "deeply embarrassed and furious" after being pulled into the Jeffrey Epstein scandal – as the newly released Justice Department files on the pedophile showed the director of her much-mocked new documentary photographed with the convicted s-- offender and groups of young women.
RadarOnline.com can reveal the controversy centers on Brett Ratner, 57, the Hollywood director hired to make Melania, a film chronicling Melania's preparations to return to the White House as First Lady at the beginning of last year.
Brett Ratner Photographed With Epstein and Young Women
Photos of Brett Ratner with Epstein were released a day after the 'Melania' premiere.
The images, released as part of the latest tranche of Epstein records, show Ratner reclining on a sofa with Epstein, who died in 2019 aged 66, with his arms around a young woman.
The photographs were published a day after Ratner appeared at the film's premiere, which was billed as his comeback following sexual misconduct allegations made against him by six women in 2017 – claims he denied and for which he was never charged.
The photographs of Ratner with Epstein are understood to have been taken around two decades ago. Those familiar with the matter said Ratner had not met Epstein before and did not see him again.
In one image, the woman Ratner is embracing is said to have been his then fiancée.
Another photograph shows Ratner with Epstein, three other women, and the French model scout Jean-Luc Brunel, who died in prison in 2022, aged 75, while awaiting trial on charges of raping minors.
Six women accused Ratner of sexual misconduct in 2017.
Ratner's career had stalled after the allegations, despite earlier success directing the Rush Hour franchise and the blockbuster X-Men: The Last Stand.
He was later brought on to direct Melania, a film that listed the First Lady, 55, among its producers.
Amazon paid $40million for the documentary and is reported to have spent an additional $35million promoting it – prompting critics to say it amounted to a $75million "bribe" from the firm's founder, Jeff Bezos, to curry favor with the Trump regime.
In an Instagram post last week, Ratner thanked Melania "for the opportunity to collaborate with you and entrusting me to bring your vision to life," adding he looked forward "to showing the world what an incredible first lady you are!"
'Deeply Embarrassing' Photos
The director thanked Melania Trump on Instagram for the opportunity to collaborate.
The film received a rare wide theatrical release for a documentary.
A source close to the Melania production said the images were "deeply embarrassing" for Melania and risked overshadowing the film itself.
Another source familiar with the Epstein files said the photographs reinforced concerns about the "normalization" of Epstein's social circle, where powerful men were routinely pictured alongside very young women "without consequence or question."
President Trump Considers Legal Action
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Donald Trump discussed the file release with reporters aboard Air Force One.
Asked about the file release aboard Air Force One on Saturday, Donald Trump, 79, said he "was told by some very important people that not only does it absolve me."
He added: "It's the opposite of what people were hoping, you know, the radical left."
The Republican added he was considering legal action against author Michael Wolff and the Epstein estate, citing earlier emails in which Wolff appeared to advise Epstein on how to speak publicly about Trump.
"Wolff, who's a third-rate writer, was conspiring with Jeffrey Epstein to hurt me politically or otherwise and that came through loud and clear," Trump said.
"So we'll probably sue Wolff on that… maybe the Epstein estate, I guess."
On Sunday, Trump's former lawyer, Todd Blanche, now the deputy attorney general, said the Justice Department believed the Epstein files did not justify further prosecutions.
"We then released over three and a half million pieces of paper, and the entire world can look at and see if we got it wrong," Blanche said, adding while the material included "a lot of horrible photographs," it did not necessarily meet the threshold for criminal charges.
