Patti LuPone is known for her outspoken and unfiltered perspective, with public pot shots at celebrities such as Madonna and Kim Kardashian, boosting her name recognition beyond her award-winning turns on Broadway. But after her latest comments spurred outrage from her peers, LuPone appears to be reassessing her position, beginning with an apology for remarks she made in a recent interview.
A hero to many for her response to texting theatergoers alone, some of the Agatha All Along actor’s support took a hit last fall. That’s when Patti LuPone’s complaints about a sound bleed from Alicia Keys’ musical Hell’s Kitchen into a neighboring theater where LuPone was performing tumbled over into social media.
In an Instagram post, Hell’s Kitchen’s Tony-winning star Kecia Lewis took LuPone to task over how the shared-walls situation was handled, saying her actions were “bullying; they’re offensive; they’re 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.” Lauded Broadway artist Audra McDonald, a longtime colleague of LuPone’s, expressed her support for the post via comment-posted emoji.
In an interview with The New Yorker published last week, reporter Michael Schulman brought up the dispute. LuPone’s response was unsparing. “Oh, my God,” she began. “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 fuck she’s talking about … She’s done seven. I’ve done thirty-one. Don’t call yourself a vet, bitch.”
(Playbill notes that Lewis, who is 59, has performed in 10 Broadway productions. The 76-year-old LuPone has appeared in 28.)
When asked about McDonald’s emoji support, LuPone responded, “Exactly. And I thought, you should know better. That’s typical of Audra. She’s not a friend” When Schulman followed up with a question about McDonald’s ongoing role in Gypsy, he writes that “she stared at me, in silence, for fifteen seconds. Then she turned to the window and sighed, ‘What a beautiful day.’”
The quotes prompted an open letter signed by over 600 artists and creatives, including McDonald, Wendell Pierce, and Courtney Love. Addressed to the American Theatre Wing and Broadway League, the note called on the groups, which organize the Tony Awards, to ban LuPone and other alleged offenders from the Tonys and other industry events.
“Individuals, including Patti Lupone, who use their platform to publicly demean, harass, or disparage fellow artists—particularly with racial, gendered, or otherwise violent language—should not be welcomed,” the letter reads. “This is about more than one person. 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.”
The letter was made public on Friday. On Saturday, LuPone issued an uncharacteristically conciliatory response, also via Instagram. In a simple white text over a grey box, the post reads, “For as long as I have worked in the theatre, I have spoken my mind and never apologized. That is changing today.”
“I am deeply sorry for the words I used during The New Yorker interview, particularly about Kecia Lewis, which were demeaning and disrespectful,” the statement continues. “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. I hope to have the chance to speak to Audra and Kecia personally to offer my sincere apologies.”
In the statement, LuPone says, “I wholeheartedly agree with everything that was written in the open letter shared yesterday. 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.”
Neither Lewis, McDonald, nor the authors of the letter have publicly responded to LuPone’s statement at the time of publication. This year’s Tony Awards are scheduled for June 8, 2025.
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