Hollywood elites who have collaborated with Scott Rudin are refusing to comment on the mounting abuse allegations brought by former assistants against the Oscar-winning producer. The New York Times also killed a story last year detailing his decades of alleged workplace bullying, according to a new report from The Hollywood Reporter.
When reached for comment, filmmakers Aaron Sorkin, Wes Anderson, and the Coen brothers — all of whom have worked multiple times with Rudin — remained silent despite new accusations against the producer.
Sorkin — who called then-President Donald Trump “staggeringly, breathtakingly dumb” — made no mention of the Rudin controversy when recentlyannouncing the return of his Broadway play To Kill a Mockingbird, which was produced by Rudin but will no longer feature his name in the credits.
Wes Anderson will reportedly not be answering any questions about Rudin while promoting The French Dispatch, which was also produced by Rudin but won’t credit him as such.
The latest report features new accusations against Rudin on top of the ones brought to light in April by the Reporter. They include more instances of verbal abuse from assistants as well as a look into the culture of silence cultivated by the powerful Hollywood talent who has worked with him.
“In my opinion, everyone who’s involved with him is complicit. Everyone,” Eric Emauni, a former Rudin assistant, told the Reporter. Emauni, who is now managing director of the prestigious LAByrinth Theater Company in New York, has alleged Rudin verbally abused him and then fired him.
“You cannot work in any part of Scott’s world and not know what kind of human being he is. It’s not possible.”
Emauni alleged that actress Frances McDormand and director Joel Coen were in close physical proximity to an incident in which Rudin verbally abused a female assistant, prompting her to quit. He claimed McDormand and Coen did nothing about the incident
Through their representatives, McDormand and Coen categorically denied having seen or witnessed any such behavior, according to the Reporter.
Last year, the New York Times was preparing an in-depth expose on Rudin but killed the story with no explanation.
Sources familiar with the Times-Rudin relationship told the Reporter he provided one of the biggest ad revenue streams for the newspaper’s Arts & Leisure section, totaling about $3 million a year. A Times spokesperson said the paper’s ad department doesn’t influence its editorial decisions.
The Reporter said Rudin still has the backing of media mogul Barry Diller, who reportedly said he believes the accusations against Rudin are “overblown and 15 years old” — even though some of the latest accusations are less than three years old.
Diller told the Reporter that he has “never characterized Scott Rudin’s actions to anyone.”
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