Leaked Sony emails embarrass, anger
Oscar-winning producer Scott Rudin apologized Thursday for calling Angelina Jolie a “spoiled brat” and making racially offensive jokes about President Barack Obama’s presumed taste in movies.
The comments were made in a series of leaked email exchanges between Rudin and Sony Pictures Entertainment co-chairman Amy Pascal, who also apologized Thursday. It was yet another embarrassment in the ongoing Sony hacking scandal, in which highly sensitive material is being leaked almost daily.
“Private emails between friends and colleagues written in haste and without much thought or sensitivity, even when the content of them is meant to be in jest, can result in offense where none was intended,” Rudin said in a statement to industry site Deadline after the Obama remarks surfaced.
“I made a series of remarks that were meant only to be funny, but in the cold light of day, they are in fact thoughtless and insensitive – and not funny at all. To anybody I’ve offended, I’m profoundly and deeply sorry, and I regret and apologize for any injury they might have caused.”
In a statement released soon after by Sony, Pascal called her comments “insensitive and inappropriate” and “not an accurate reflection of who I am.” She said that although the emails were “stolen,” she accepts “full responsibility for what I wrote and apologize to everyone who was offended.”
In a tweet later Thursday, “Scandal” and “Grey’s Anatomy” creator Shonda Rhimes said the comments were “racist,” not merely “racially insensitive.”
This latest shocker in the Sony scandal erupted Tuesday, when the website Gawker posted email exchanges stolen from the studio’s computer systems. The leaks gave the public a rare, unfiltered glimpse into the blunt, often crude way Hollywood does business.
In another email, as reported by Buzzfeed, Rudin and Pascal also riffed about what she should talk to President Obama about at an upcoming fundraiser.
“Should I ask him if he liked DJANGO?” wrote Pascal, referring to Quentin Tarantino’s “Django Unchained.”
They continued the email chain joking about which films the President might enjoy, referencing “Lee Daniels’ The Butler,” “Think Like a Man” and “Ride Along” – all films with primarily African-American casts.
“I bet he likes Kevin Hart,” wrote Rudin.
Rev. Al Sharpton said in a statement that the apologies were not enough, comparing Pascal to disgraced NBA owner Donald Sterling and demanding that she meet with black leaders immediately.
Birthday bunch
Former TV host Bob Barker is 91. Singer Connie Francis is 77. Singer Dionne Warwick is 74. Gymnast-turned-actress Cathy Rigby is 62. Singer-musician Sheila E. is 57. Rock musician Eric Schenkman (Spin Doctors) is 51. Actress Jennifer Connelly is 44. Actress Mayim Bialik is 39.