It’s been 10 days since The Hollywood Reporter published “Everyone Just Knows He’s An Absolute Monster,” a long-form piece of reporting focused on the allegedly abusive work environment created by Hollywood super-producer (and EGOT winner) Scott Rudin. The piece lays out Rudin’s status as a sort of apex bully in the L.A. ecosystem, a tyrant happy to work physical abuse (mostly throwing things at or near subordinates) into a regimen of emotional abuse that could range from verbal belittling to a frequent practice of firing people and then re-hiring them when his temper cooled off. Collecting anecdotes across decades of Rudin’s history in the business (as did this recent Vulture piece) the THR report outlined the shape of a man who would probably come off as a fascinating character in a film—but who, in the real world, was just another abuser, albeit a very powerful and financially successful one.
Now, though, Rudin appears to be facing some small measure of consequences for his behavior, with Variety reporting that the producer has issued an apology and offered to “step back” from his various Broadway productions. This comes after increasing criticism of his business practices, including by Karen Olivo, the Tony-nominated star who said she wouldn’t be returning to the Broadway production of Moulin Rouge! (which, to be clear, Rudin isn’t involved in) over disgust at the industry’s support for Rudin and people like him.
Rudin gave his farily boilerplate statement to The Washington Post, which also notes that he’s apparently considering anger management classes, which will definitely come as a relief to the numerous assistants and subordinates he allegedly punched down on over the years. Anyway, here’s the statement:
Much has been written about my history of troubling interactions with colleagues, and I am profoundly sorry for the pain my behavior caused to individuals, directly and indirectly. After a period of reflection, I’ve made the decision to step back from active participation on our Broadway productions, effective immediately. My roles will be filled by others from the Broadway community and in a number of cases, from the roster of participants already in place on those shows. My passionate hope and expectation is that Broadway will reopen successfully very soon, and that the many talented artists associated with it will once again begin to thrive and share their artistry with the world. I do not want any controversy associated with me to interrupt Broadway’s well deserved return, or specifically, the return of the 1500 people working on these shows.