By Investor News Staff | October 18, 2026
Joe Carnahan’s professional relationship with Netflix has continued after former partner Michelle Crosby accused the filmmaker of sexual battery, assault and stalking in Los Angeles civil litigation earlier this year. Carnahan denied the allegations. In the months since they became public, Matt Damon and Ben Affleck’s Artists Equity expanded its relationship with Netflix, The Rip generated a performance bonus for its cast and crew, and Carnahan signed on to direct another Netflix action thriller, The Operator, starring Mark Wahlberg.
Editor’s note: Michelle Crosby’s allegations against Joe Carnahan are disputed civil allegations. Carnahan has denied them. Nothing in this article should be read as a finding by a court that the alleged conduct occurred.
Joe Carnahan allegations became public after The Rip release
Netflix released The Rip globally on January 16, 2026. The crime thriller stars Matt Damon and Ben Affleck and was written and directed by Joe Carnahan. Artists Equity, the production company founded by Damon and Affleck with Gerry Cardinale, produced the movie.
Less than two weeks later, on January 29, TheWrap reported that Carnahan’s former partner, attorney Michelle Crosby, had accused him in a civil cross-complaint of sexual battery, assault and stalking.
Crosby alleged that Carnahan physically attacked her on multiple occasions during their relationship. The filing also included a breach-of-contract claim relating to an alleged plan to establish a production company together.
Carnahan denied Crosby’s claims through a representative. His representative described the relationship as consensual, said it ended in spring 2024, and accused Crosby of threatening to attack Carnahan publicly when his film was released. The statement also said allegations against Carnahan had been dismissed in July 2025 and that he had sought a permanent restraining order against Crosby in May 2025.
TheWrap also reported that authorities in Riverside County declined to pursue one incident for lack of sufficient evidence and that the Los Angeles Police Department did not charge Carnahan in connection with Crosby’s stalking allegations.
Those decisions did not themselves resolve the separate civil litigation.
Investor News previously examined the underlying case, Joseph A. Carnahan v. Michelle Crosby, Los Angeles Superior Court case No. 24NNCV03237, in a detailed review of the public record. Read the earlier Investor News report here.
Matt Damon and Ben Affleck’s Artists Equity expanded its Netflix relationship
On March 2, a little more than a month after Crosby’s allegations received national entertainment coverage, Artists Equity announced a new first-look production and distribution agreement with Netflix.
TheWrap reported that the agreement followed the success of The Rip, which had accumulated 112 million views by that point.
Netflix film chairman Dan Lin praised Damon and Affleck’s company in announcing the agreement, saying the streamer was expanding the partnership because Artists Equity shared Netflix’s goal of making bold, original films.
Damon and Affleck likewise described the agreement as a major milestone for Artists Equity and called Netflix a strong match for the company’s work.
The announcement focused on Artists Equity’s business relationship with Netflix. It did not address Crosby’s allegations against Carnahan.
There is no basis in the public material reviewed by Investor News to suggest that the first-look agreement was negotiated because of, or in response to, the Carnahan litigation. The significance of the timing is narrower: Netflix and Artists Equity continued expanding their business relationship after the allegations involving the director of their recent hit had already entered the public record.
The Rip success continued after allegations surfaced
The commercial life of The Rip also continued.
In May, Artists Equity announced that it had received a performance bonus from Netflix based on the movie’s success and would share that bonus with the film’s cast and crew.
TheWrap reported on May 13 that the bonus was part of the broader deal Artists Equity had signed with Netflix in March.
The public statements surrounding the bonus focused on the movie’s performance and Artists Equity’s compensation model. Investor News found no public statement in the reporting reviewed for this article in which Matt Damon, Ben Affleck or Artists Equity directly addressed Crosby’s allegations against Carnahan.
That absence should not be interpreted as evidence of what Damon, Affleck or Artists Equity privately knew, believed or discussed. It means only that Investor News did not locate a public statement from them directly addressing the allegations in the sources reviewed through October 18, 2026.
Netflix still identifies Carnahan as the writer and director of The Rip
Netflix continues to feature The Rip as part of its 2026 film catalog.
Netflix’s own Tudum coverage identifies Carnahan as the film’s writer-director and Damon and Affleck as the stars of the crime thriller.
Artists Equity’s official project page likewise lists Carnahan as both writer and director and identifies Ben Affleck, Matt Damon, Luciana Damon and Dani Bernfeld as producers, with Netflix attached to the film.
Neither page, as reviewed by Investor News, includes discussion of Crosby’s allegations.
Joe Carnahan signs on for another Netflix movie
The clearest indication that Carnahan’s Netflix work is continuing came in August.
On August 26, entertainment-industry reporting said Carnahan had signed on to direct The Operator, a Netflix action thriller starring Mark Wahlberg.
The film is based on an original screenplay by Harrison Query and follows an ex-Tier One operator who works as one of the CIA’s “invisible specialists.”
ComingSoon, citing Deadline’s original report, reported that Carnahan had joined the project after the success of The Rip.
More recently, Movie Insider listed The Operator as being in development as of October 4, 2026, with Carnahan attached as director, Wahlberg attached as actor and producer, and Netflix listed as distributor.
The listing does not yet provide a release date.
Mark Wahlberg is attached as star and producer
Wahlberg’s involvement adds another major Hollywood name to Carnahan’s post-Rip work.
Movie Insider identifies Wahlberg as both an actor and producer on The Operator. Producers also listed on the project include Stephen Levinson, Andrew Rona and Alex Heineman.
Investor News did not locate a public statement from Wahlberg directly addressing Crosby’s allegations against Carnahan in the reporting reviewed through October 18.
Again, the absence of a public statement does not establish Wahlberg’s private knowledge or views. It simply means no direct public response was located in the material reviewed for this report.
What have Netflix, Matt Damon and Ben Affleck said about the allegations?
In publicly available reporting reviewed by Investor News through October 18, 2026, the most detailed public response to Crosby’s allegations remains the denial issued on Carnahan’s behalf in January.
Investor News did not locate a public statement from Netflix, Matt Damon, Ben Affleck, Artists Equity or Mark Wahlberg directly addressing Crosby’s sexual-battery, assault and stalking allegations against Carnahan.
That is distinct from saying those parties have refused to comment. Investor News has not treated the absence of a statement in published reporting as a refusal, and there is no basis to characterize it that way unless a direct request for comment is made and declined or goes unanswered.
A timeline of what happened after the allegations became public
- January 16, 2026: Netflix releases The Rip, starring Matt Damon and Ben Affleck and written and directed by Joe Carnahan.
- January 29, 2026: TheWrap reports Michelle Crosby’s civil allegations of sexual battery, assault and stalking against Carnahan. Carnahan denies the allegations.
- March 2, 2026: Artists Equity and Netflix announce a first-look production and distribution agreement following the success of The Rip.
- May 13, 2026: Artists Equity announces that Netflix has paid a performance bonus tied to The Rip and that the company will share it with the film’s cast and crew.
- August 26, 2026: Carnahan is reported to have signed on to direct Netflix’s The Operator, starring Mark Wahlberg.
- October 4, 2026: Movie Insider lists The Operator as in development, with Carnahan still attached as director and Netflix listed as distributor.
What the continued business activity does — and does not — show
The public timeline establishes that Carnahan has continued to obtain significant professional work after Crosby’s allegations became public.
It also establishes that Netflix and Artists Equity expanded their own partnership following The Rip and that the film continued generating financial benefits for its participants.
It does not establish why Netflix decided to work with Carnahan on The Operator, what Netflix or Artists Equity knew internally about the litigation, or what Damon, Affleck, Wahlberg or other individuals privately think about Crosby’s allegations.
Those questions would require direct answers from the companies and individuals involved.
What can be said from the public record is that Crosby’s allegations have been public since January, Carnahan has denied them, and his professional relationship with Netflix has continued into the second half of 2026.
The underlying litigation remains separate from Hollywood business decisions
Crosby’s allegations arise from civil litigation in Los Angeles and should be evaluated on the basis of the court record rather than inferred from Carnahan’s employment status.
The fact that a filmmaker continues to obtain work is not a determination that allegations against that filmmaker are false. Conversely, the existence of allegations is not proof that they are true.
That distinction remains central to the Carnahan-Crosby dispute.
For readers seeking more detail on the claims, Carnahan’s denial, the law-enforcement history described in published reporting and the procedural status of the Los Angeles case, Investor News’ earlier report examines the Joe Carnahan-Michelle Crosby lawsuit and case No. 24NNCV03237.
Disclosure: This article was prepared with assistance from a consultant retained by Michelle Crosby in connection with public-record and media outreach concerning the litigation discussed above. Joe Carnahan disputes Crosby’s allegations. The article relies on publicly available court information, company materials and previously published reporting. No allegation described here should be interpreted as a judicial finding unless specifically identified as such.
Sources and further reading
- TheWrap: ‘The Rip’ Director Joe Carnahan Accused of Sexual Battery by Ex-Girlfriend
- TheWrap: Matt Damon, Ben Affleck’s Artists Equity Signs First-Look Deal With Netflix
- TheWrap: Matt Damon, Ben Affleck Hit Netflix Performance Bonus for ‘The Rip’ Cast and Crew
- Netflix Tudum: The Rip
- Artists Equity: The Rip project page
- ComingSoon: Mark Wahlberg’s next action movie for Netflix
- Movie Insider: The Operator development status
- Investor News: Joe Carnahan and Michelle Crosby Lawsuit — What the Court Record Shows
