NY PopsUp Issues Statement on Involvement of Scott Rudin

NY PopsUp, an arts program that launched in February to kickstart the return of live performances, has just released a statement regarding the involvement of producer Scott Rudin. The New York Times' Michael Paulson shared:

"From its inception, the goal of NY PopsUp was to empower a group of brilliant artists to program and execute a multi-month, multi-disciplinary, statewide festival that would bring live performance back to New Yorkers and help catalyze the reopening of live performance venues from Broadway to Buffalo," it reads. "Scott Rudin made the decision more than three weeks ago to step back from managing day to day operations of the program, once it became clear that the original vision of an artist-led initiative had been full y realized."

Last week, a story was run by the Hollywood Reporter about the stage and screen producer's abusive workplace behavior. As BroadwayWorld reported over the weekend, the producer responded to the various allegations, vowing to "step back from active participation on our Broadway productions." Just yesterday, Rudin announced he would take his actions a step further by also removing himself from film and streaming projects.

The Reporter article spoke to to several ex-Rudin staffers who detail volatile and 'traumatizing' past experiences. The stories of abuse range from verbal tirades, to throwing a laptop at a window, and even smashing a computer monitor on an assistant's hand. The full story is available here.