Apple CEO Tim Cook posed for a photograph with an accused sex pest during a private screening of the Melania Trump documentary at the White House.
Cook, 65, joined invited VIP guests who watched the vanity documentary Melania just hours after federal agents fatally shot ICU nurse Alex Pretti in Minneapolis.
The Apple CEO, no stranger to the White House during Donald Trump’s second term, posed for a happy snap with the documentary’s director, Brett Ratner. Ratner shared the photo on his Instagram account on Sunday.
The Melania documentary, which Amazon reportedly funded to the tune of $75 million, is something of a career comeback for Ratner, 56.
Despite success directing X-Men: The Last Stand and Trump’s beloved Rush Hour franchise, Ratner’s Hollywood career stalled in 2017 when numerous women came forward with allegations of misconduct.
In 2017, Natasha Henstridge and five other women accused Ratner of sexual harassment and misconduct that allegedly took place on movie sets, in private homes or at industry events.
Olivia Munn also revealed an incident with the director when she was an aspiring actress in 2004, saying, “I’ve made specific, conscientious choices not to work with Brett Ratner.”
Ratner has denied all the allegations. Melania is his first directing work since Hercules in 2014.
In December, a photo of Ratner appeared in a dump of content from the Epstein files.
The Daily Beast has contacted reps for Cook for comment.
Ratner curiously chose the Beatles’ A Day in the Life as the soundtrack to his photo with Cook. The song’s co-writer, Paul McCartney, is no Trump fan, previously calling him a “braggart” and saying he “seems quite unstable, to say the least.”
The Hollywood Reporter said the black-tie private premiere of Melania featured around 70 VIP guests including Mike Tyson, Zoom CEO Eric Yuan, New York Stock Exchange CEO Lynn Martin, self-help guru Tony Robbins, Queen Rania of Jordan, and celebrity photographer Ellen von Unwerth. She shot the documentary’s poster but has tellingly not posted any Melania Trump content on her curated Instagram page.
Ironically, a makeshift theater at the White House had to be erected for the vanity documentary as the White House Family Theater was bulldozed in October to make way for Trump’s vanity ballroom.
Cook posed with photos for anti-Trump celebrities George Clooney and Mark Ruffalo at the AFI Awards Luncheon in Hollywood earlier this month.
The Apple CEO’s attendance at the premiere of Melania, bankrolled by rival streaming service Amazon, was called out by conservative political strategist Rick Wilson on social media.
“If you’re a CEO willing to sit in the company of this regime, your ‘shareholder value’ excuse feels pretty blood-soaked tonight,” Wilson posted on X of the premiere that followed Pretti’s death.
No expense was spared for Saturday night’s private screening. Guests were greeted by a full military band playing “Melania’s Waltz,” a new song composed for the film.
Ratner shared photos of black and white macarons and chocolate bars keeping with the movie’s aesthetic. There were black and white popcorn boxes, served by gloved waiters to not put fingerprints on the boxes, and an old school popcorn stand branded ‘Movies at the White House.’
The documentary covers the days leading up to Trump’s second inauguration from the eyes of the first lady. It will have its official red-carpet premiere at the Kennedy Center on Thursday, before being released to cinemas the following day.
Entertainment reporter Rob Shuter claimed that advance ticket sales are “dismal,” with theaters expected to be “practically empty.”
The Hollywood Reporter said the Saturday screening was the first time President Trump had seen his wife’s documentary.
“I’ve seen pieces of it,” the 79-year-old told reporters on Air Force One earlier this month.
“It’s incredible,” he said. “I tell you, I think it’s going to do very [well]. She did a book and the book was a big No. 1 bestseller and this is a movie and, uh, it seems to be captivating a lot of people’s attention. It’s, uh, very good.”
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