Aaron Sorkin says Scott Rudin 'got what he deserved' after bullying claims

Oscar-winning filmmaker Aaron Sorkin is lashing out at Hollywood's disgraced producer Scott Rudin following his bullying scandal. 

While conversing with Vanity Fair, The Trial of the Chicago 7 director spoke against the film and theatre producer, saying he “got what he deserves” after facing allegations of bullying.

“Had I known, there’s no chance I would’ve tolerated it, there’s no chance [director] Bart Sher would’ve tolerated it, that Jeff Daniels would’ve tolerated it. So we didn’t know. And once we did, we did something about it,” said the Academy Award winning director.

“I think Scott got what he deserves. He’s lying flat on the mat right now, and I don’t know how it’s helpful for me to stand on his torso and kind of jump up and down,” he added.

“It was painful to read that Hollywood Reporter story, particularly because it’s pretty likely that some of those assistants who were being abused were working on something I wrote while they were being abused,” said Sorkin referencing the exposé on Rudin.

“I’ll tell you that in a number of the follow-up stories that I read, you’ll see people quoted saying, ‘Everybody knew, everybody knew.’ And that’s ludicrous. Everybody did not know. I certainly didn’t know, and I don’t know anybody who knew,” he added.

“I saw in those articles that we’re talking about that my name would always be part of a list of people who have chosen to remain silent, with the implication being that we somehow endorse what Scott did, or we don’t think it’s a big deal, or we want to make sure we’re able to work with him when and if he makes a comeback, something like that,” he added.

“But I just felt like to say something, to be quoted saying, ‘This is unacceptable. There have to be consequences,’ that kind of quote, it felt like protection insurance to me. And I just wasn’t comfortable with it,” he shared.

“Do I think there’s a comeback for him? I have no idea. I honestly have no idea. I don’t know what he’s doing now. But I’ll say this: I hope he gets better. I feel the way I would with an alcoholic or an addict. I hope he gets better,” the Newsroom director shared.