3 days ago
- Entertainment
- New York Post
Patti LuPone condemned by over 500 Broadway artists for ‘bullying' Audra McDonald, Kecia Lewis
Break a leg.
More than 500 Broadway artists signed an open letter slamming Patti LuPone over her recent comments against Audra McDonald and Kecia Lewis.
The letter, which was written on behalf of the Broadway Theater Community on Friday, May 30, chastised LuPone, 76, for the flippant remarks she made about her fellow stage icons in an interview with The New Yorker published on Monday.
7 More than 500 Broadway artists signed an open letter slamming Patti LuPone for her recent comments against Audra McDonald and Kecia Lewis.
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'Recently, Patti LuPone made deeply inappropriate and unacceptable public comments about two of Broadway's most respected and beloved artists,' the letter, which was addressed to the American Theatre Wing and the Broadway League, read.
'This language is not only degrading and misogynistic – it is a blatant act of racialized disrespect,' the letter continued. 'It constitutes bullying. It constitutes harassment. It is emblematic of the microaggressions and abuse that people in this industry have endured for far too long, too often without consequence.'
Some high-profile Broadway stars who signed the open letter include Tony winners Maleah Joi Moon ('Hell's Kitchen'), James Monroe Iglehart ('Aladdin') and Wendell Pierce ('Radio Golf').
7 LuPone said McDonald was 'not a friend' during an interview with The New Yorker earlier this week.
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The more than 500 signatories described LuPone's remarks as a 'public affront to the values of collaboration, equity, and mutual respect that our theater community claims to uphold.'
'Let us be clear: this is about more than one person,' the letter continued. 'It is about a culture. A pattern. A persistent failure to hold people accountable for violent, disrespectful, or harmful behavior – especially when they are powerful or well-known.'
'This is not about differing opinions,' the letter went on. 'It is about public actions that demean, intimidate, or perpetuate violence against fellow artists. It is about the normalization of harm in an industry that too often protects prestige over people.'
7 LuPone also called Lewis a 'bitch' who 'doesn't know what the f–k she's talking about.'
Joan Marcus
Playbill was the first to share the document on Friday, and the letter added that the Broadway community can't 'continue to welcome back those who harm others simply because of their fame or perceived value.'
It also demanded an end to the kind of behavior that LuPone exhibited earlier this week.
'We will no longer tolerate violence – verbal, emotional, or physical – against artists within our own community,' the letter said. 'No more free passes. If our industry is truly committed to equity, justice, and respect, then those values must be applied consistently, even when it's uncomfortable.'
7 'This language is not only degrading and misogynistic – it is a blatant act of racialized disrespect,' more than 500 members of the Broadway community said on Friday in response to LuPone's remarks.
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'Especially when it's uncomfortable,' the missive continued. 'No artist, producer, director, or leader—regardless of legacy or celebrity—should be allowed to weaponize their platform to belittle, threaten, or devalue others without consequence. Period.'
The Post has reached out to LuPone's reps for comment.
The 'Beau Is Afraid' actress first made headlines when she bashed McDonald and Lewis during her scathing sit-down with The New Yorker.
7 McDonald and LuPone performing onstage together at The Hollywood Bowl in July 2000.
Los Angeles Times via Getty Images
While the 'Agatha All Along' actress said that McDonald, 54, was 'not a friend,' she later called Lewis, 59, a 'bitch' who 'doesn't know what the f–k she's talking about.'
'Oh, my God,' LuPone said of the 'Hell's Kitchen' actress. '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–k she's talking about.'
'She's done seven,' LuPone added. 'I've done thirty-one. Don't call yourself a vet, bitch.'
7 Kecia Lewis accepting the Best Performance by an Actress in a Featured Role in a Musical award for 'Hell's Kitchen' at the 77th Annual Tony Awards in June 2024.
Getty Images for Tony Awards Productions
LuPone also targeted Glenn Close, 78, during the no holds barred interview, saying she wanted to call her a 'bitch' after Close replaced her in the Broadway debut of 'Sunset Boulevard.'
McDonald later addressed LuPone's vicious remarks in an interview with Gayle King on 'CBS Mornings' Thursday.
The 'Gilded Age' star said she was 'surprised' by her Broadway colleague's comments and didn't 'know what she's talking about.'
7 McDonald addressed LuPone's surprising remarks on Thursday.
CAROLINE BREHMAN/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock
'I mean, if there's a rift between us, I don't know what it is,' McDonald said. 'That's something you'd have to ask Patti about.'
'I haven't seen her in about 11 years because I've been busy with life and stuff,' she added. 'So, I don't know what rift she's talking about. You'd have to ask her.'
