Sony Executive and Producer Apologize for Leaked Emails
— -- An executive at Sony and a top Hollywood producer have issued apologies after their emails criticizing major movie stars including Angelina Jolie and Adam Sandler surfaced as part of a massive hacking attack on the company.
Amy Pascal, the chairman of Sony Pictures Entertainment, said that she is sorry for the private emails to mega-producer Scott Rudin.
"The content of my emails to Scott were insensitive and inappropriate but are not an accurate reflection of who I am," she said in a statement issued today. "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, who made direct jibes at the talent and bankability of certain stars, also issued an apology saying the private emails were written in haste and the content was intended to be in jest.
"Private emails between friends and colleagues written in haste and without much thought or sensitivity, even when the content of them is meant to be in jest, can result in offense where none was intended," he said in a statement to ABC News. "I am deeply sorry and apologize for any injury they might have caused."
The leaked emails are the latest fallout in what appears to be a hacking attack on the entertainment company. Many suspect a group of North Korean hackers may be responsible for breaking into Sony's infrastructure as retribution for the studio's film "The Interview," which is about an assassination attempt on the country's leader Kim Jong-un. North Korea officials have denied responsibility for the hacking.
Prior to the leak, Rudin's name might have only be familiar to the average moviegoer after watching a few Academy Awards ceremonies because he is thanked by countless top actors during their acceptance speeches. That's because the mega-producer does all of his work outside the frame of the camera, but those in the entertainment industry know him well.
The 56-year-old was the first producer to ever win the coveted quartet of an Emmy, Grammy, Oscar and Tony Award and is now one of the top movie producers in Hollywood.
Of the 85 films he produced, "The Social Network," "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo," "No Country for Old Men," "The Hours" and "The Queen" are a selection of the films that won Academy Awards.
The emails seemed to indicate a close working relationship between Rudin and Pascal, who holds the official titles of co-chairman of Sony Pictures Entertainment and the chairman of Sony Pictures Entertainment Motion Picture Group.
According to her official Sony biography, Sony Pictures has had 95 films hit number 1 in the box office since 2000 under her leadership.
Pascal, 56, first joined the company through its title Columbia Pictures in 1988 and was elected to the Board of Governors of the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences last year.
