The powerful film and theatre producer Scott Rudin is resigning from the Broadway League, the trade association for producers and theatre owners, almost three weeks after being first accused of decades of abusive behaviour towards employees.
“I know apologizing is not, by any means, enough,” Rudin told the New York Times in a statement. “In stepping back, I intend to work on my issues and do so fully aware that many will feel that this is too little and too late.”
Rudin, 62, had previously said he would be “stepping back” from his stage productions. But on Thursday hundreds of theatre workers marched down Broadway, demanding a more inclusive industry and calling for Rudin to be removed from the Broadway League.
Rudin, the producer behind recent stage smashes including To Kill a Mockingbird and The Book of Mormon, had been under pressure since the Hollywood Reporter published allegations that he created an unpredictable and hostile environment for staff.
“He threw a laptop at the window in the conference room and then went into the kitchen and we could hear him beating on the napkin dispenser,” recalled one production assistant, Caroline Rugo.
“Then another time he threw a glass bowl at [a colleague]. It’s hard to say if he threw it in the general direction or specifically at [the colleague], but the glass bowl hit the wall and smashed everywhere.”
Others recalled Rudin smashing a computer monitor on an assistant’s hand, requiring the employee to seek medical attention. Another assistant said Rudin threw a baked potato at his head.
While Rudin’s behavior had been reported – in a 2005 Wall Street Journal profile with the headline “Boss-zilla!” he boasted he had burned through 119 assistants in five years – his current travails signal that even the entertainment business has grown weary of tyrannical forms of management.
“Even as others have been canceled or have dialed back their aggression, Rudin’s behaviour has continued unabated, leaving a trail of splintered objects and traumatised employees in his path,” the Hollywood Reporter said.
Rudin’s films have earned 151 Oscar nominations and 23 wins. In theatre, his productions have earned 17 individual Tony awards.
On Saturday, the New York Times published a report in which Rudin’s financial backers seemed to be stepping away.
“He’s had a bad temper,” said the billionaire David Geffen, who has co-produced recent Broadway shows, “and he clearly needs to do anger management or something like that.”
The British producer Robert Fox said: “There’s always, with Scott, two sides to the coin, depending on what he wants. He can treat people impeccably well or disgracefully badly and there’s not much in between.”
