PROTECTING A MONSTER

AS ACCUSATIONS OF ABUSE MOUNT AGAINST POWERFUL HOLLYWOOD PRODUCER SCOTT RUDIN, A-LISTERS ARE UNDER FIRE FOR NOT TAKING STAND.

Business as Usual

Celebs like Meryl Streep, Nicole Kidman and Julianne Moore have yet to speak out against Scott Rudin. “In Hollywood sometimes it’s easier to keep your head down and mind your own business,” says an insider.

WORKING for top Hollywood producer Scott Rudin came with a unique set of on-the-job hazards: Being berated in front of colleagues, fired for imagined offenses — and having staplers, food and computers thrown at one’s head. The toxic environment was one of the industry’s worst-kept secrets, as revealed in multiple profiles of the Broadway and Hollywood titan, 62, over the years. Even comedian Chris Rock acknowledged the abuse during a visit to the office to discuss his 2014 film, Top Five. “On the first day I started as an intern, Chris had come out of a story meeting,” a former employee recalled in a recent Vulture exposé. “He walked past the front bullpen of the office and joked to all the assistants and the interns, ‘It’s okay. You can relax. I know he beats the sh*t out of you all day.’”