Leaked private e-mails cause havoc in public: Your say

Letter to the editor:

Producer Scott Rudin thinks that his and Sony Pictures Entertainment chief Amy Pascal's e-mails — which mock a U.S. president, black actors and movies, and an actress who spends so much time traveling the globe in her fight against poverty and for health care and education — are indefensible because they are now "in the harsh light of a public forum, without context" ("Rudin, Pascal sorry for racially insensitive e-mails").

Are they trying to dig deeper pits of prejudice and disgrace for themselves?

Clearly, Rudin and Pascal are sorry only because they got caught. Who do they think they are kidding? If these two high-powered individuals who reflect the worst of America and the worst of the movie industry aren't fired, let the box office and ticket receipts beware.

Marcie Lipsitt; Franklin, Mich.

Comments from Facebook are edited for clarity andgrammar:

Why would anyone assume an interoffice e-mail would be safe? It's saved on a server, just waiting to be accessed. Moral of the story: If you need to say something rude, insensitive or racist, say it in person or don't say it at all.

— Jasmine Brown Denny

What a coward. Scott Rudin won't stand by the words he wrote, whether they be right or wrong. He would rather be apologetic and then hope he gets back into the good graces of the industry.

If he won't defend his stance, then he is a person without backbone.

— Jim N Kim London

People have to keep in mind that Rudin wasn't taking a stance, but that he was writing a personal e-mail to a colleague.

— Anthony Betz

It's great to be a nobody. Nobody cares about hacking my e-mail. These days, fame, fortune and power are a risky business.

— Douglass D Watts