Barry Diller Allegedly Berated Business Partner Scott Rudin's 'Idiot' Ex-Assistant, As Accusations Pile Up Over Media Mogul's 'Hair Trigger' Temper
Scott Rudin's longtime business partner Barry Diller's temper continues to be under a microscope in the wake of abuse claims against his Hollywood producer friend.
Amid the explosive allegations about Rudin, sources told RadarOnline.com, Diller's treatment of employees isn't any better.
Insiders describe him as "vicious as hell" and say his alleged "hair-trigger" temperament has reduced employees to tears.
Another brave former co-worker is dropping another claim about the intolerable work environment Rudin creates, and Diller is being dragged through the mud once again.
Speaking to The Hollywood Reporter, one of Rudin's ex-assistance recalls being berated by Diller over the phone, which reportedly resulted in the employee being fired.
In September 2019, Eric Emauni tells the outlet he was rolling calls when Rudin barked at him to get Diller on the line "immediately."
But when Emauni did as he was asked, Rudin allegedly changed his tune.
“Scott says, ‘Hang up the f---ing phone.’ And I say, ‘Mr. Diller, Scott’s going to have to call you back,’” the ex-employee remembers.
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That didn't sit well with Diller, who is a multimillionaire and former executive at Fox and Paramount. Instead of getting pissed off at Rudin, he reportedly took his temper out on Emauni.
“In that moment, Barry Diller then lays into me. He’s cussing me out over the phone. ‘You called me, and he’s not f--ing ready? How dare you? You’re an idiot,'" he claims.
After both executives laid into Emauni, he recalls Rudin demanding another worker get Diller back on the line. What allegedly happened next is almost out of a Hollywood movie.
According to Emauni, his enraged boss hovered over him screaming. Rudin fired Emauni on the spot and reportedly even threatened to call the cops.
“Scott says, ‘Somebody call the police on him. Get him out of here,’” Emauni says. “And it was that moment for me, as a Black man, that I said, ‘I need to remove myself from this space.’ Because, if you can so cavalierly just shout something out like that to your staff, without any consequence to what that means for me, that’s a huge problem.”
As for Diller, his alleged questionable work tactics keep coming up as accusations continue to brew over Rudin's reported abusive behavior.
However, Diller spoke out on the latest allegations and denied the claims.
“I’ve never been on a phone conversation with Scott Rudin where he berated anyone, much less called the police,” he told THR.
Sources tell the outlet, Diller isn't sweating any of the accusations. In fact, he reportedly thinks the stories of employees are “overblown and 15 years old.”