Geoffrey Rush denies allegations of inappropriate behaviour
Sydney, Nov 30 (IANS) Oscar-winning actor Geoffrey Rush has denied allegations of “inappropriate behaviour” during production of the play “King Lear”.
In light of the accusations, Rush and his lawyers put out a statement in the form of a letter which maintained that the complaint was made 21 months ago and says that Rush “abhors any form of maltreatment of any person in any form”, reports variety.com.
On Wednesday, the Daily Telegraph newspaper published a statement from the Sydney Theatre Company (STC), which said it “received a complaint alleging that Geoffrey Rush had engaged in inappropriate behaviour. The company received the complaint when Rush’s engagement with the company had ended. The company continues to work with the complainant to minimise the risk of future instances of the alleged behaviour occurring in its workplace”.
However, Rush’s lawyers stated that there are no details given by the production company on the same.
“Rush has not been approached by the STC and the alleged complainant nor any representative of either of them concerning the matter you have raised. In other words, there has been no provision of any details, circumstances, allegations or events that can be meaningfully responded to,” read the statement.
“It is a great disappointment to Rush that STC has chosen to smear his name and unjustifiably damage his reputation in this way. Not to afford a person their right to know what has been alleged against them let alone not inform them of it but release such information to the public is both a denial of natural justice and is not how our society operates,” the statement further read.
In a personal statement in the letter, Rush said he called senior management at the STC once he learnt about the complaint, which the company allegedly “refused” to illuminate.
Rush starred in the local “King Lear” production from November 2015 to January 2016.