Is Scott Rudin Behind Fake Emails Trying to Disrupt WEST SIDE STORY Protests?
A couple of weeks ago, I reported that I had received a series of emails from someone posing as Megan Rabin, one of the organizers of the protests against the casting of Amar Ramasar in West Side Story. The emails tried to convince me to publish false information about Alexandra Waterbury, the woman who is suing Mr. Ramasar, and portray cracks within the ranks of the protesters.
However, after speaking with Ms. Rabin, she confirmed that she didn’t send those emails. In fact, the email address was fake.
In the weeks since, there has been little to no chatter coming from show sources. But in the past couple of days, multiple sources have confirmed to me that there is chatter that someone in Scott Rudin’s camp is behind the emails. If this were true, I wouldn’t be surprised. Mr. Rudin’s tactics to get his way are legendary in this business.
Just last week, I got an email from a journalist who told me they were working on a story about the issue and wanted to talk to my sources. This would be fine except that I know the journalist personally and they also confirmed to me that they sent no such email.
But if it were true, what does this say about how the production team is viewing the protests? It definitely contradicts their dismissive behavior up until now. Are producers starting to become worried about the negative press reporting on the protests? Maybe.
While they have been bragging about their financial success, you can find tickets available to West Side Story for as low as $49 on certain ticket selling sites. I don’t know the intricacies of the ticket-selling business, but I don’t see other successful shows selling on these sites for that low of a price. So take that for what you will.
Needless to say, these protests are getting to someone to the point they are trying to shut them down. Is it Scott Rudin? Amar Ramasar? Or someone else? I do know that the emails have been turned over to authorities and attorneys and these things can be traced. So the moment I know, you’ll know.
For now, the protests continue. They’ll be another one this Friday night at 7 pm.