The battle to take back Broadway has begun.
Broadway's Karen Olivo, who was slated to return to their role in Moulin Rouge! when Broadway reopens, announced they will not return to the role when the show comes back.
They shared the news on Instagram with a video.
Olivo's decision comes in protest to the theatre industry's silence regarding The Hollywood Reporter's exposé on producer Scott Rudin, outing Rudin as a serial abuser creating a hostile workplace with his sometimes violent outbursts.
The exposé details some very odd and scary working conditions in Scott Rudin's offices, including him breaking glass and injuring workers, throwing staplers at them, belittling and screaming at his workers, temporarily "firing" them while they waited for him to cool down in a Starbucks below the office, among other things.
Rudin is decorated in both Hollywood and on Broadway, having 17 Tony Awards to his name.
Olivo's assertion the theater industry's enabling Rudin is outstanding and disgusting is what lead them to drop out of Moulin Rouge!
"The silence about Scott Rudin? Unacceptable. Unacceptable. That's the easy one, y'all. That's a monster. That should be a no-brainer."
Rudin also sent employees to the emergency room, which Olivo directly addressed in their announcement.
"Are you going to protect your pocketbook? And let people go to the emergency room so you can do your next concert?"
Actor's Equity Association and Screen Actors' Guild, the two major actor unions on Broadway and in Hollywood, released a joint statement "condemning abuse in the workplace" that did not name Rudin.
From those who have worked in the industry, Rudin's hostility and unsafe working conditions have been an open secret for years, much like the abuses of Kevin Spacey were before that.
Hopefully other major leads will follow Olivo's cue and demand the industry do better or they'll take their talent elsewhere.
