Media mogul Barry Diller defends Scott Rudin, decries cancel culture

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Media mogul Barry Diller (left) has backed movies and Broadway shows from the now embattled producer Scott Rudin (right). Diller photo by REUTERS/Phil McCarten. Rudin photo by Everett Collection / Shutterstock.

For nearly the past decade, media mogul Barry Diller has backed award-winning movies and Broadway shows from now embattled mega-producer Scott Rudin. Asked about allegations that Rudin engaged in a decades-long pattern of abusive behavior, Diller pushes back.

He says he never witnessed any abusive behavior from Rudin and that if the allegations against the producer are true, “I would hope that he would find a way to deal with that and reenter the business, because he’s too valuable a resource to not be in the business.”

In May, three former Rudin assistants appeared on The Business and described being yelled at, belittled and gaslighted by Rudin. 

In part two of KCRW’s conversation with the Hollywood legend, Diller emotionally defends Rudin and decries cancel culture. 

Plus, Scarlett Johansson sues Disney over the “Black Widow” release strategy, and consumers complain about the difficulty of watching the Tokyo Olympics.

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