Theater Icon Patti LuPone Apologizes For Shading Black Actresses

Broadway beef is not something you generally hear about outside of New York City theater circles, but this week it went viral after comments made by theater icon Patti LuPone. In a interview with The New Yorker, just before her guest appearance on the third season of HBO Max’ And Just LIke That, LuPone shared her opinion about Audra McDonald, a four-time Tony Award winner currently onstage in the Broadway revival of Gypsy.

LuPone, a three-time Tony winner best known for her role as Eva Perón in Evita, also commented on actress Kecia Lewis, a Tony winner for Hell’s Kitchen, leading observers to wonder just what her problem was with the actresses.

Turns out there’s some backstory with Lewis. When the 76-year-old actress was starring in a play called The Roommate with Mia Farrow, she complained that the sound cues from Hell’s Kitchen, showing in the neighboring theater, were bleeding through their shared wall. After the production adjusted the sound, LuPone sent flowers to the show and cast. That prompted Lewis to share in an IG post that she considered LuPone’s request to be a “microaggression” and accused her of bullying.

When asked about it in The New Yorker piece, LuPone said, “Here’s the problem. She calls herself a veteran? Let’s find out how many Broadway shows Kecia Lewis has done, because she doesn’t know what the f-ck she’s talking about,” she said. “She’s done seven. I’ve done thirty-one. Don’t call yourself a vet, bitch.” (Per the article, Lewis has ten credits, LuPone has 30).

McDonald caught a stray apparently for liking Lewis’ post and adding emojis in agreement. That prompted LuPone to say, “And I thought, ‘You should know better.’ That’s typical of Audra. She’s not a friend.”

In a CBS This Morning interview with Gayle King, McDonald seemed confused since it doesn’t appear she ever thought they were friends. When she was asked about any ‘beef’ with LuPone, McDonald said that she hadn’t seen or spoken to her in over a decade.

But it didn’t end there – when asked how LuPone felt about McDonald’s performance as Momma Rose, the lead character in Gypsy, which LuPone also won a Tony for, The New Yorker article reports she sat in silence, then looked out the window and said, “What a wonderful day.”

McDonald is the first Black actress to play the role on Broadway.

But now, after the backlash, LuPone has had a change of heart. She apologized for her remarks on social media, saying, “I regret my flippant and emotional responses during this interview, which were inappropriate, and I am devastated that my behavior has offended others and has run counter to what we hold dear in this community,” she said in her post. “I hope to have the chance to speak to Audra and Kecia personally to offer my sincere apologies.”

The apology came after an open letter signed by 600 Broadway stars and insiders asking that LuPone be disinvited from the upcoming Tony Awards, saying her comments were a “blatant act of racialized disrespect.” They also characterized her comments about McDonald as the opposite of the values of the theater community.

“To publicly attack a woman who has contributed to this art form with such excellence, leadership, and grace — and to discredit the legacy of Audra McDonald, the most nominated and awarded performer in Tony Award history — is not simply a personal offense,” the letter said. “It is a public affront to the values of collaboration, equity, and mutual respect that our theater community claims to uphold.”

LuPone agreed, saying, “From middle school drama clubs to professional stages, theatre has always been about lifting each other up and welcoming those who feel they don’t belong anywhere else. I made a mistake, I take full responsibility for it, and I am committed to making this right. Our entire theatre community deserves better.”

Apology or not, social media is roasting her. See the reactions below. 

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