Sutton Foster on Scott Rudin leaving The Music Man amid bullying accusations: ‘The only positive outcome is the one that happened’
- Tony-award winner, 46, spoke on livestream about controversy
- She said of Rudin: ‘I never had to deal with anyone like this before’
- Foster had made an ultimatum to quit the show if Rudin did not leave
- Foster didn’t feel social media was the appropriate medium to tackle the topic
- Rudin said he was ‘profoundly sorry for the pain [his] behavior caused’
Sutton Foster expressed her relief after producer Scott Rudin left The Music Man amid bullying accusations.
‘I feel like the only positive outcome is the one that happened,’ the two-time Tony Award winner said in a livestream Sunday with Broadway colleague Beth Nicely. ‘I am so honored to be a part of The Music Man and I can’t wait to create an incredible, safe, inclusive, loving environment for everyone involved, and that I all I care about moving forward.’
The 46-year-old performer said she ‘needed to just step away to really address how [she] wanted to handle the situation,’ and didn’t feel social media was the appropriate medium to tackle the topic.
The latest: Sutton Foster, 46, expressed her relief on an Instagram Live chat Sunday after producer Scott Rudin, 62, left The Music Man amid bullying accusations
‘I didn’t feel like I needed to post so that it would happen,’ Foster said. ‘I didn’t feel like that was something I needed to do because it becomes like a reactionary thing.’
Foster, who plays Liza Miller on the TV show Younger, added that she ‘needed to step back make sure the decision [she] made was mine and not based on the noise of social media.’
The Statesboro, Georgia native said that her co-star in the production, Hugh Jackman, ‘feels exactly the same way’ she does on Rudin’s exit, and explained her thought process for those who felt she waited too long to speak out.
‘I apologize if it seems like I wasn’t actively trumpeting my feelings, but I feel like the noise of – I couldn’t get a clear mind, and I really needed to step away,’ Foster said. ‘I never had to deal with anyone like this before, and I think 46 years on this Earth deserves that.
Speaking out: The two-time Tony Award winner chat in a livestream Sunday with Broadway colleague Beth Nicely
Sutton explained her thought process for those who felt she waited too long to speak out
‘I’m mature enough to take the time and I think people should allow it,’ she said. ‘I really am excited about returning to Broadway and may we just continue the change and that’s all I’m going to say.
‘I just feel really, it’s an unbelievably unfortunate situation, but the only positive outcome is the one that is happening.’
Rudin issued a statement on Saturday saying he was stepping down from the production in the wake of a bombshell April 7 story from The Hollywood Reporter quoting former employees of Rudin about the entertainment mogul’s fiery temper and decades long abuse of those he worked with.
Out and about: Foster was seen filming Younger in NYC in February
Insiders told THR Saturday that Foster had made an ultimatum to quit the show if Rudin did not leave.
Among the allegations were that he fostered a climate of verbal and physical abuse, physically hitting an employee with a computer monitor while launching glass bowls and baked potato in separate indigents.
‘After a period of reflection, I’ve made the decision to step back from active participation on our Broadway productions, effective immediately,’ Rudin said in his statement to The Washington Post, in which he did not address the claims laid out in THR.
He added: ‘Much has been written about my history of troubling interactions with colleagues, and I am profoundly sorry for the pain my behavior caused to individuals, directly and indirectly.’