Patti LuPone has publicly apologized to fellow Broadway actors Kecia Lewis and Audra McDonald for comments she made in a recent New Yorker article, writing in an Instagram post, “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,” LuPone writes about her comments which included referring to Lewis as “bitch.”
“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.”
Read LuPone’s entire statement below.
LuPone’s comments in a New Yorker magazine profile prompted considerable outrage within the theater community. Yesterday, a group called Theater For Change posted an open letter on social media and sent to news organizations calling on The Broadway League, The American Theatre Wing and “the greater theatre community” to demand “accountability, justice, and respect” in light of LuPone’s remarks. The letter was signed by more than 500 theater workers, including the Tony-winning actors Wendell Pierce, Maleah Joi Moon and James Monroe Iglehart.
“Recently, Patti LuPone made deeply inappropriate and unacceptable public comments about two of Broadway’s most respected and beloved artists: Kecia Lewis and Audra McDonald,” the letter states. “In a published interview with The New Yorker, she referred to Kecia Lewis — a Black woman and a 40-year veteran of the American stage — as a “b***.” This language is not only degrading and misogynistic — it is a blatant act of racialized disrespect. 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.”
LuPone’s comments to The New Yorker stemmed from an incident last fall when she and Mia Farrow were starring in The Roommate at Broadway’s Booth Theatre. The Booth abuts the Shubert Theatre, where the Alicia Keys musical Hell’s Kitchen plays. LuPone complained to the Shubert Organization about the loud Hell’s Kitchen music that could be heard through a shared wall during her play.
Lewis, a Tony-winning star of Hell’s Kitchen, took to Instagram to characterize LuPone’s complaints as “bullying” and “racially microaggressive.”
Asked about the incident by the New Yorker writer, LuPone responded with a comment that belittled Lewis’ career. She also spoke about McDonald, who had responded to Lewis’ Instagram video with heart and handclap emojis; LuPone said in the article, “That’s typical of Audra. She’s not a friend.”
LuPone’s apology reads, in full:
“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. 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.
“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.”
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