Patti LuPone reveals Audra McDonald is ‘not a friend' following Broadway stars' feud

New York Post

26-05-2025

Everything's coming up roses – except her friendship with Audra McDonald.
Patti LuPone got candid on where she and her fellow Broadway performer, 54, stand after years long tension.
The actress, 76, told reporter Michael Schulman of the New Yorker that McDonald is 'not a friend.'
8 Patti LuPone speaks onstage during the Emmy FYC Screening Of Marvel Televisions' 'Agatha All Along' at DGA Theater on April 19, 2025 in Los Angeles, California.
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Without going into detail, LuPone noted to the outlet that their relationship ended due to an incident years prior.
After Schulman asked the singer to share her thoughts on McDonald's current role as Rose in 'Gypsy,' the 'And Just Like That…' actress allegedly sat in silence before turning to the window, letting out a sigh and exclaiming, 'What a beautiful day.'
The Post has reached out to a rep for McDonald.
8 Audra MacDonald and Patti LuPone during a break in an LA Opera rehearsal of 'Mahagonny.'
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LuPone previously won a Tony for playing Rose in 2008. McDonald was nominated for a Tony for her part in the musical, which made her the most nominated performer of all time with 11 nods.
She has already taken home six Tonys, while LuPone has received three.
Although there is no friendship between the two Broadway legends, they have performed together over the years. In 2000, the actresses starred in the New York Philharmonic's concert version of 'Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street.'
8 Audra McDonald and Patti Lupone.
Los Angeles Times via Getty Images
LuPone and McDonald also costarred in the LA Opera production of 'Rise and Fall of the City of Mahagonny' in 2007.
During her profile, the 'Agatha All Along' alum didn't hold back while talking about a separate issue she has with Kecia Lewis after the pair had words on social media last year.
The 59-year-old uploaded a clip to Instagram in which she chastised LuPone for calling the musical 'Hell's Kitchen' 'too loud.'
8 Audra McDonald and Patti LuPone pose at the Drama League's 27th Annual All-Star Benefit Gala.
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Lewis said, 'These actions, in my opinion, are bullying. They're offensive, they are racially microaggressive, they're rude, they're rooted in privilege. And these actions also lack a sense of community and leadership for someone as yourself, who has been in the business as long as you have.'
She concluded her message by sharing some advice for LuPone and other Broadway stars.
'Let's continue fostering an environment on Broadway that recognizes and values all shows for their unique contributions and energy, and that celebrates the diversity of voices and sounds and stories that we all bring to the stage,' Lewis suggested. 'Ms. LuPone, I respectfully submit to you that you owe us an apology — not flowers. Thank you for listening.'
LuPone was starring alongside Mia Farrow in the play 'The Roommate' at the time and shared a wall with the musical. She said she could hear the show's sound cues, which were too loud.
8 Audra McDonald attends the 2025 Met Gala.
Getty Images for The Met Museum/Vogue
'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–k she's talking about,' LuPone said about Lewis' video. 'She's done seven. I've done 31. Don't call yourself a vet, bitch!'
Schulman then told the 'American Horror Story' actress that McDonald had responded to Lewis' post with two heart emojis and two clapping emojis.
'Exactly,' LuPone replied. 'And I thought, 'You should know better.' That's typical of Audra.'
Elsewhere in the interview, the Hollywood vet addressed her 'painful' seven year on-off relationship with ex Kevin Kline.
8 Patti LuPone attends the Disney's 'Agatha All Along' Los Angeles Official Emmy FYC Event.
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The two dated in the 1970s, with LuPone confessing to The New Yorker, 'I took an instant dislike to him.'
'He looked like Pinocchio to me,' she expressed. 'He had skinny legs and he was tall, and I didn't really see the handsomeness.'
But soon after, LuPone and Kline, 77, began 'feeling each other up' in the back of an art-appreciation class.
As she put it, 'He was a Lothario.'
While together, LuPone and Kline starred alongside one another in the 1975 Broadway musical 'The Robber Bridegroom.'
8 Kecia Lewis accepts the Best Performance by an Actress in a Featured Role in a Musical award for 'Hell's Kitchen.'
Getty Images for Tony Awards Productions
'It was a painful relationship,' LuPone detailed. 'I was his girlfriend when he wanted me to be his girlfriend, but if there was somebody else he would break up with me and go out with that person. And I, for some reason, stuck it out — until I couldn't stick it out anymore.'
Kline went on to marry Phoebe Cates in 1989. The pair have two kids, Owen and Greta.
For her part, LuPone tied the knot with Matthew Johnston in 1988 and welcomed son Joshua Luke Johnston shortly after.
8 Kecia Lewis performs at the 77th annual Tony Awards.
Getty Images for Tony Awards Productions
Decades into her career, in 2024, the superstar spoke candidly about belonging on the stage.
'This is all the way I was born, more indication that I was born to the boards,' she told The Grand Tourist. 'I was born to do what I do. My voice is a result of a lack of knowledge, quite frankly. When I was growing up, I'd sing along to Dionne Warwick in those keys, not my keys. I didn't even know what my keys were. And I sang along to rock and rollers. I sang along to when I was growing up. That was my music because that was the beginning of it.'
Now, with an upcoming role on Season 3 of 'And Just Like That…,' LuPone predicted what work she wanted to do more of at the time.
The musician, who described herself as 'funny, curious, a tourist,' during the chat, stated, 'I'd like to end my career on TV or in film,' because 'it's easy.'