We can’t have nice things anymore, especially if those things are men we used to respect. Geoffrey Rush was/is one of the most respected actors in the world. He won an Oscar for Best Actor in the ‘90s. He helped “discover” Cate Blanchett when she was a young actress in Australia. He has a reputation for nurturing young talent. He frequently “goes home” to work in Australia, which makes him especially popular and cherished there. And it seems that during one of those times when he was working in Australia, he behaved inappropriately with a young staffer at the Sydney Theatre Company. His reaction and the reactions of other people are very… interesting.

Academy Award winner Geoffrey Rush has been accused of “inappropriate behavior” while acting in a production of “King Lear,” according to new reports. The Sydney Theatre Company says it received a complaint from a staffer a little under two years ago relating to Rush’s time on the production that ran from Nov. 2015 to Jan. 2016, The Daily Telegraph reported.

“Sydney Theater Company received a complaint alleging that Mr. Geoffrey Rush had engaged in inappropriate behavior,” a spokeswoman for the prestigious theater company said. “The Company received the complaint when Mr. Rush’s engagement with the Company had ended.”

The accuser asked to remain anonymous and did not want Rush to be notified or involved in any investigation — and the company did not expand upon what ‘inappropriate behavior’ Rush allegedly engaged in. Rush, 66, staunchly denied the allegations — although he isn’t entirely sure what he’s being accused of.

“In this current environment, ‘inappropriate behavior’ may mean abuse, bullying or other forms of reprehensible activity,” his lawyers said in a statement to Page Six. “These are matters that deserve forthright and objective levels of discussion. It must be made clear from the outset that Mr Rush abhors any form of maltreatment of any person in any form.”

But two actors who appeared in the production backed up the accuser.

“I was in the show,” actor Meyne Raoul Wyatt wrote on Facebook, according to the Daily Telegraph. “I believe (the person who) has come forward. It’s time for Sydney Theatre Company and the industry in Australia and worldwide as a whole to make a stand on this behaviour!!!!”

“It wasn’t a misunderstanding. It wasn’t a joke,” tweeted actor Brandon McClelland, the paper reports.

Rush also released a statement saying he’d contacted the theater company when he heard of “rumors of a complaint,” and asked for clarification about the allegations.

“They refused to illuminate me with the details,” he said. “I also asked why this information was being withheld and why, according to standard theater practice, the issue had not been raised with me during the production via stage management, the director, my fellow actors or anyone at management level,” he added. “However, no response was forthcoming.”

[From Page Six]

I think nothing is being done about this, from the standpoint of the Sydney Theatre Company, because King Lear is over and there are no current or future plans to work with Rush again. So what can they do? If the victim doesn’t want her name (I’m assuming it’s a her) out there and she’s not going to the police, there’s not much else STC can do. As for Rush’s reaction… “I also asked why… the issue had not been raised with me during the production via stage management, the director, my fellow actors or anyone at management level…” Because you were playing King Lear and you were the big fish in the little pond and you abused your power. Plus, it’s clear that she only came forward recently, even though there were other witnesses to the behavior.

Photos courtesy of WENN.