Producer Scott Rudin announced on Tuesday that he is “stepping back” from his film and streaming projects in the wake of abuse allegations, as Variety reports. The news follows his announcement on Saturday that he would step away from his Broadway productions. In a statement on Tuesday, Rudin said he’s stepping back to “take the time to work on personal issues I should have long ago.”
Earlier this month, a Hollywood Reporter story detailed Rudin’s alleged abusive behavior of former employees, who accused him of intimidation and physical acts of aggression stemming from the EGOT-winning producer’s “volcanic temper.” A spokesperson for Rudin had previously denied the allegations.
On Saturday, Rudin issued a statement that he would step back from his Broadway work. Prior to the pandemic, he produced The Book of Mormon and To Kill a Mockingbird, and he had plans to produce a revival of The Music Man.
“When I commented over the weekend, I was focused on Broadway reopening successfully and not wanting my previous behavior to detract from everyone’s efforts to return,” Rudin said in his statement on Tuesday. “It’s clear to me I should take the same path in film and streaming. I am profoundly sorry for the pain my behavior has caused and I take this step with a commitment to grow and change.”
In an Instagram Live conversation from last weekend, Sutton Foster, who is starring alongside Hugh Jackman in the upcoming Rudin-produced The Music Man, said she and Jackman were committed to creating “an incredible, safe, inclusive, loving, amazing environment for everyone involved.” Her comments followed Rudin’s announcement that he was stepping away from his Broadway work.
Known for producing No Country for Old Men, Lady Bird and The Social Network, Rudin’s upcoming films include Netflix’s The Woman in the Window and A24’s The Humans.