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Rudin, Pascal sorry for racially insensitive e-mails

Maria Puente
USA TODAY
Angelina Jolie on Dec. 8 in Hollywood.

Hollywood apologies piled up Thursday.

First, Scott Rudin, the high-powered Hollywood producer whose hacked-and-leaked e-mails caught him trashing Angelina Jolie and making racially insensitive comments about President Obama's taste in movies, apologized for his remarks.

Then Sony Pictures entertainment chief Amy Pascal added her regrets about her exchange with Rudin, which had devolved into the mocking of movies featuring black actors and Obama's supposed preference for them.

Rudin made his apology in a statement to trade website Deadline, saying the e-mails he exchanged with Pascal contained jests written in haste and not meant for public consumption. But they were indefensible "in the harsh light of a public forum, without context," he said, according to Deadline.

Rudin acknowledged that the statements were insensitive and thoughtless, and offered regret and apologies to those he had offended, reported the Associated Press.

Soon after, Pascal issued her own apology, saying their e-mails were "insensitive and inappropriate."

"But (they) are not an accurate reflection of who I am," she wrote. "Although this was a private communication that was stolen, I accept full responsibility for what I wrote and apologize to everyone who was offended."

Rudin's and Pascal's leaked e-mails, obtained by Gawker and BuzzFeed this week, are the latest embarrassment stemming from the Sony hacking fiasco. The leaked e-mails left Hollywood types, and Rudin and Pascal in particular, with unappetizing images as ugly and petty egomaniacs.

Among other things, Rudin called Angelina Jolie a "minimally talented spoiled brat," largely due to a competition between the two for the services of a coveted director.

The references to Obama were in the context of a discussion with Pascal about a fundraiser breakfast with Obama she was to attend. Their exchange seemed to assume that Obama, because he's black, would prefer movies featuring blacks.

She suggested Django. He suggested 12 Years a Slave. She came back with The Butler.

"Ride-along. I bet he likes Kevin Hart," Rudin replied.

(Hart, who was called a "whore" in other leaked emails involving yet another exec emailing Pascal, said on Instagram that he was brushing off the insults. "I refuse to be broken, people," he said in a message.)

The e-mails revealed a surprising attitude of cynicism, given that Obama and Democrats in general count on Hollywood's political and financial support, including from the likes of Pascal.

Some bloggers and websites also suggested the e-mails exposed the level of casual racism in Hollywood. Only this week, Chris Rock talked about race and the entertainment industry in an essay in The Hollywood Reporter.

"It's a white industry. Just as the NBA is a black industry. I'm not even saying it's a bad thing. It just is," he wrote.

Shonda Rhimes was even more pointed in a tweet today, especially about the media coverage of the episode.

"Calling Sony comments 'racially insensitive remarks' instead of 'racist'? U can put a cherry on a pile of sh** but it don't make it a sundae," she scoffed.

Representatives for Rudin and Sony did not immediately respond to the AP's request for comment on the apologies.

Meanwhile, Sony's public relations efforts in response to the hack and the embarrassment so far have not been that successful.

The studio's latest move was to pull red carpet invitations to the premiere of The Interview inLos Angeles today. Sony told invited media that only photographers and a Sony house crew will be allowed on the carpet.

This annoyed the media but spared starsSeth RogenandJames Francofrom the inevitable questions about the Sony hack, which may have been spurred by this movie.

The Interview, a raucous comedy opening Dec. 25, centers on a farcical assassination attempt on North Korean leaderKim Jong-un.Although the hackers claiming credit call themselves the Guardians of Peace, suspicion has fallen onNorth Koreabeing the real culprit. North Korea, however, denies this.

At least one star, Zoe Saldana, pointed out on Twitter that the leaks unveiled some of the true nature of life in Hollywood.

But Judd Apatow had a different take on the matter:

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