Home Alone cast controversies as actor Devin Ratray comes under investigation for alleged rape

Home Alone star Devin Ratray is being investigated by New York authorities over allegations that he raped a woman in New York in 2017.

Ratray, 45, is already facing domestic violence charges after his previously girlfriend claimed that he strangled and punched her in a hotel room in Oklahoma last December. 

After hearing about the assault case, for which he has plead not guilty, a woman named Lisa Smith contacted prosecutors about a police report she had filed in 2017, in which she accused him of raping her. 

The actor, who is best known for playing Buzz McCallister in the beloved Christmas comedy, is not the first star from the movie to face controversy in the years 32 years since it came out.

The flick first premiered in 1990, and it’s about a young boy who was accidentally left behind after his entire family jetted off on vacation without him.

Stuck on his own for the first time, Kevin McCallister had to learn to fend for himself – and when two robbers decided to try to break into his house, it certainly made things more complicated.

The movie, which also starred Macaulay Culkin, Joe Pesci, Daniel Stern, John Heard, and Catherine O’Hara, quickly became a fan favorite – raking in $476.7 million worldwide – and is now considered a cult classic.

Despite its major success, many of the actors from the movie went on to have scandalous lives and were plagued with drug problems, substance abuse issues, and run-ins with the law.

One of the movie’s stars was charged with third-degree assault, stalking, and trespassing after he broke into his ex-girlfriend’s home and allegedly slapped her during an altercation, while another tragically died young of a heart attack after becoming a cocaine addict and a heavy drinker. 

As Ratray is investigated for alleged rape, FEMAIL has taken a look back at the many other controversies that have afflicted the cast of Home Alone – from a six-day marriage to childhood abuse.

Macaulay Culkin: Arrested after being found with 17.3 grams of marijuana and two controlled substances

After starring as Kevin McCallister in the beloved 1990 movie, Culkin, now 41, was propelled into the spotlight practically over night.

He went on to land numerous other roles, including Home Alone 2: Lost in New York, the thriller The Good Son, the movie adaptation of The Nutcracker, Getting Even With Dad (alongside Ted Danson), and comedy flick Richie Rich.

However, in 1994, he announced his retirement from acting, claiming he wanted a ‘normal life’ instead – and enrolled at a private high school in Manhattan. 

‘It started feeling like a chore,’ he later told Esquire of his decision to step out of the spotlight. ‘I started vocalizing that and not being heard. I was saying, “I wanna go to school,” I [hadn’t] done a full year of school since first grade.’

After six years of living a normal life, he returned to acting in 2000, when he appeared in London’s West End version of the play Madame Melville.

He starred in a slew of movies and TV shows throughout the 2000s and 2010s – most recently, it was announced that he was starring in the tenth season of American Horror Story – however, it was his off-screen antics that earned him more attention.

Throughout the later years of his career, he struggled with substance abuse issues, drug use, and an arrest – all of which played out under the intense magnifying class of the public eye.

In September 2004, he was arrested in Oklahoma City after police found him carrying 17.3 grams of marijuana, 16.5 milligrams of Xanax, and 32 milligrams of Klonopin. He plead guilty and received three one-year suspended prison sentences, and had to pay $540 in fees. 

Then, in 2012, drug rumors circulated once again after photos of him looking pale and skinny made their way onto the internet, but he later insisted to the Guardian that he never had a serious drug problem.

‘No, I was not pounding six grand of heroin every month or whatever,’ he said in 2016. ‘The thing that bugged me was tabloids wrapping it all in this weird guise of concern. No, you’re trying to shift papers.’

In 2020, he addressed ‘people who assume he’s crazy, damaged, weird, cracked, or a kook,’ insisting to Esquire that while he ‘played with some fire’ early on in his career, he has never needed professional help and now feels ‘relatively well-adjusted.’ 

‘I’ve never been to rehab or anything like that,’ he pointed out. ‘I’ve never had to clean out that way. There were certain times when I had to catch myself, once or twice. 

‘”You’re having too good a time, Mack.” … But I never went so far down that road where I needed outside help.’

At the time, he admitted that he ‘didn’t do drugs recreationally’ anymore, but that doing them when he was younger helped make him the ‘person he is today.’

‘I wouldn’t be the person I am today if I hadn’t had drugs in my life at some point or another,’ he said. ‘I had some illuminating experiences – but also it’s f**kin’ stupid, too, you know? 

‘So besides the occasional muscle relaxer, no, I don’t do drugs recreationally. I still kinda drink like a fish. I drink and I smoke. 

‘But I don’t touch the [hard drugs]. I do love them. They’re like old friends. But sometimes you outgrow your friends.’

Culkin also made headlines in 1995, when reports emerged that the then 15-year-old had formally emancipated himself by removing his parents as his legal guardians. 

He reportedly took them to court in an attempt to gain control of his $15 million trust fund that he had earned from his acting career; his mom and dad – Patricia and Kit Culkin – were allegedly earning 15 per cent of his paychecks up until then.

While he later told Esquire that the situation was ‘misconstrued’ in the media, he confirmed that he had ‘legally taken his parents’ names off his trust fund’ as a protective measure.

‘I legally took my parents’ names off of my trust fund and found an executor, someone who would look over my finances, just in case anyone wanted to stick their f**king pinkie in the pie,’ he explained.

He also told the outlet that ‘f**ked up things happened’ during his childhood, adding, ‘Look, I mean, it sucks. But, it coulda been worse, you know? I wasn’t working in a coal mine. I wasn’t a child soldier. 

‘My father was not sexually abusing me. Certain f**ked up things happened, but f**ked up things happen to kids all the time and they don’t come out the other end. 

‘I’ve got something to show for it, man. I mean, look at me: I got money, I got fame, I got a beautiful girlfriend and a beautiful house and beautiful animals.’

The actor told Marc Maron on his WTF podcast in 2018 that his father was ‘physically and mentally’ abusive to him when he was a child, which stemmed from him being ‘jealous’ of everything he achieved at such a young age.

His parents split in 1994, when Culkin was age 14, and at the time, his mom accused his dad of ‘excessive drinking, physical abuse and unfaithful behavior,’ per a legal petition obtained by The Sun. 

Culkin’s love life was also the subject of much media coverage over the years; he married actress Rachel Miner in 1998, when they were both just 18 years old, but they divorced in 2002, after four years together.

Months later, he started dating The ’70s show star Mila Kunis, but they split in 2011. He is now in a relationship with Disney alum Brenda Song, and in April 2021, they welcomed a baby boy together, named Dakota Song Culkin. 

Devin Ratray: Accused of domestic violence and rape

Ratray was well-known for playing Buzz McCallister, Kevin’s oldest brother who often got him in trouble, in the Christmas flick, which he starred in when he was just 13.

He went on to become a regular on MTV’s reality series Damage Control and starred in a few movies and TV shows like Dennis the Menace, Little Monsters, the 2007 movie Serial, sci-fi flick Surrogates, suspense thriller Elevator, Nebraska (opposite Bruce Dern and Will Forte), Blue Ruin in 2013, crime drama Hustlers, and Steven Sonderbergh’s Kimi. He also ventured into music, and sings and plays guitar in a band called Little Bill and the Beckleys. 

However, the actor was arrested last December following an appearance at OKC Pop Christmas Con in Oklahoma City, which he attended with his girlfriend.

At the event, he reportedly got angry with his girlfriend – whose identity has been kept hidden for privacy reasons – while the pair was drinking at a bar after she didn’t charge two female fans for his autograph.

The two started arguing, and the fight then continued into their hotel room, where he allegedly got violent and tried to strangle her.

Ratray is now facing charges of domestic assault and battery by strangulation; he was released from custody after posting a $25,000 bond. He has since denied the allegations, and is set to appear in court in October in relation to those allegations.

Now, in the wake of the looming trial, Smith reportedly contacted law enforcement and told them that she had been raped by Ratray years earlier. 

According to CNN, she claimed she was friends with the actor for around 15 years before the alleged assault; she claimed it occurred in 2017, after she met Ratray, her brother, and a friend for a drink in New York.

The group then went to Ratary’s apartment for another drink, where she claimed he insisted she have a specific glass. She said she suddenly became exhausted, and that Ratray encouraged her to stay over and sleep on the couch.

Smith said she believed she was drugged by the star, stating: ‘I remember waking up and I couldn’t move. I couldn’t really open my eyes, but I could hear what was happening and I could feel what was happening. I knew that the other two people were gone and I was still on the couch.’

She claimed that she was then assaulted by him, stating that it went on for what felt like an ‘eternity’ – and she was only able to regain control of her body at around 2pm the next day, when she fled the apartment.

The day after the attack, Smith said she told a friend, her sister, and one of her brothers what happened, and then confronted Ratray in a text message.

He denied the assault, so Smith decided to file a police report a few weeks later, and met up with an NYPD detective in Salt Lake City – who wrongly marked that she did not want to prosecute.

She told the outlet that she was recently informed that authorities thought she wanted to remain anonymous and didn’t want to press charges, which is why the case was never pursued, and that she was ‘devastated’ that police failed to investigate her allegations when she came forward.

At the time of the incident, she travelled from out of state to be interviewed at the Manhattan District Attorney’s office and provided them with the clothes she wore the night of the attack.

She added: ‘Why would I have met with the DA in the first place, years ago, if I wasn’t willing to press charges? …This was all very upsetting to me.’

‘Seeing that he was accused of assaulting someone else made me realize that I needed to do whatever I could to prevent him from hurting even more women.’

When contacted by CNN, Ratray said he recalled the evening with Smith but denied her claims that he raped her. A spokesperson from the district attorney’s office confirmed that they ‘are in touch’ with Smith, but declined to discuss the handling of the case. 

Joe Pesci: Rumored to have been involved in ex-wife’s attempted murder charges

Pesci, now 79, has had a major career across decades – acting in movies like Raging Bull, Lethal Weapon, Goodfellas, The Irishman, JFK, My Cousin Vinny, and Home Alone – in which he played one of the thieves, named Harry.

In 1999, he announced his retirement from acting to pursue a musical career and to enjoy life away from the camera, but he has had a few on-screen cameos since then.

The actor has been married and divorced three times, and has one daughter from his first marriage. His third marriage was to a woman named Claudia Haro and was arguably the most controversial.

They wed in 1988 and divorced in 1999, but Haro made headlines years later when she was arrested for attempted murder – something he was briefly rumored to be involved in. 

The actress, who appeared in a few movies like Jimmy Hollywood, With Honors, and Casino, was accused of hiring a hitman to try to kill her ex-husband Garrett Warren in 2000.

A man showed up at his house and shot him four times in the chest, neck, hip, and eye, right after she had filed for divorce; he survived the attack.

She ultimately pleaded no contest to two counts of attempted murder and a principle firearm charge and was sentenced to 12 years in prison in April 2012. She was released in 2019. 

Looper.com reported that Pesci was ‘briefly considered as the supposed source of financing for the failed hit,’ but the allegations against him were later dropped. 

The acclaimed actor also made headlines in 2006, when he allegedly struck a man in Florida, who was attempting to take a picture with him.

John Heard: Charged with third-degree assault, stalking, and trespassing

Heard, who passed away in July 2017 at age 71, portrayed Kevin’s dad, Peter McCallister, in Home Alone, and afterwards, he did not slow down.

While his career flourished –  his acting credits include Awakenings (which also starred Robert De Niro and Robin Williams), Deceived (with Goldie Hawn), Gladiator in 1992, Samuel L. Jackson’s One Eight Sevem, The Sopranos, crime show CSI: Miami, Prison Break, and Fox series The Chicago Code – his personal life was filled with controversy.

In 1991, one year after his success in Home Alone, he was arrested and charged with third-degree assault for allegedly slapping his ex-girlfriend Melissa Leo.

He and Leo got together in the ’80s and welcomed a son, named James Matthew, together in 1987. But after splitting a few years later, they became engulfed in a nasty custody battle.

He was also accused of trespassing onto her property, stalking her and their son, and beating up her new partner, but was only found guilty of one charge of trespassing in the end.  

‘I fear for the safety of my son and my safety,’ Leo said in a complaint filed with police at the time, which was obtained by AP. ‘[Heard] is stalking my son and must be stopped before something else happens.’

Heard was married three times, and fathered three kids. His first marriage to actress Marot Kidder, which took place before he dated Leo, only last six days.

In 2016, news hit the web that his son Max – from his second wife, Sharon – had died; the cause of death was not released, but in the obituary, Sharon stated that Max did ‘not have a father participating in his life,’ seemingly confirming that they had been estranged before the passing.

He also married a woman named Lana Pritchard in 2010, but they divorced after seven months together. He died of cardiac arrest due to hypertensive heart disease in 2017.

John Candy: Died young after years of heavy alcohol use and cocaine addiction

Candy’s character in Home Alone, Gus Polinski (also known as the Polka King of the Midwest), famously helped Kate McCallister find her son, playing a big role in the movie’s happy ending.

But in real life, Candy did not have a happy ending. He died at the early age of 43 in 1994 from a heart attack, after spending years struggling with obesity, binge eating, heavy alcohol use, smoking, and cocaine addiction.

It’s been said that he weighed in excess of 300 pounds during some points of his life, and would eat to cope with his professional struggles and ‘anxiety.’

He once admitted that his drug problem began after he moved to Chicago to in 1972, when he joined the comedy group The Second City.

‘The next thing I knew, I was in Chicago, where I learned how to drink, stay up real late, and spell “d-r-u-g-s,”‘ he said.

AllTheInteresting.com added that it didn’t help that Candy’s ‘career was largely built on playing the big funny guy.’

‘Though he often tried to diet and exercise, Candy would turn back to bad habits,’ the outlet reported. ‘He quit drugs for a time, but he continued to smoke cigarettes and used food to quell his anxiety.

‘When that didn’t work, panic and anxiety set in. Inner turmoil followed him to the set of his final film in Durango, Mexico – and hastened his demise.’

Before his passing, he starred in Disney’s The Rescuers Down Under, horror comedy Nothing But Trouble, JFK in 1991, rom-com Only the Lonely (which he also co-wrote and co-directed with Chris Columbus), and Cool Runnings (with Cuba Gooding Jr.).