Broadway Actors, Workers Take To The Streets To Denounce Producer Scott Rudin, Demand More Inclusion From Union
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- Hundreds of Broadway actors and theater workers came out Thursday for a "March on Broadway."
Protesters said they want embattled producer Scott Rudin officially ousted and more inclusion in the industry, CBS2's Alice Gainer reported.
"We want to shut Scott Rudin out of the Broadway League," march co-organizer Nattalyee Randall said.
Following numerous allegations of bullying that went unchecked for decades, Rudin, an award-winning producer of Broadway and film, announced he was stepping back from all of it to work on his issues.
UPDATE: Producer Scott Rudin Resigns From Broadway League Amid Allegations Of Abusive Behavior
Hundreds of actors and other theater workers took their voices from the stage to the street, joining together in Columbus Circle and then down Broadway to say that doesn't go far enough.
"Scott could still be a silent partner. We want him banished from the Broadway League. We want him banished and put on the do-not-work list," march co-organizer Courtney Daniels said.
In addition to wanting Rudin out of the entertainment industry completely, they also have a list of other demands, Gainer reported.
Those rallying want their union, Actors' Equity Association, to be more transparent about dues.
"Are you putting it into BIPOC organizations? are you putting it into Trans Lives Matter? Are you putting it into the deaf and disabled community?" one person said.
They want more diversity in the union and also diversity and inclusion for trans, nonbinary and gender non-confirming artists, and artists with visible and non-visible differing abilities.
"I am deserving of so much more," one protester said.
"Disabled representation need not be only in shows that are about disability. We can play any role," another said.
"If we don't get it, shut it down," a protester said.
"It is not enough to put a black square on your Instagram," "Wicked" actor Eden Espinosa said.
"Say no. Don't take your contract. Don't go back," a protester said.
"If you go back before the union can guarantee they have instituted measures at preventing racist, ableist and misogynistic behaviors, we will have lost that foothold," "Mean Girls" actor Ashley De La Rosa said.
They say it's not workers versus the union. They want to work together to make a safer environment for all.
