Patti LuPone has issued an apology after hundreds of Broadway performers spoke out against the three-time Tony Awards winner over what they say is a pattern of “inappropriate and unacceptable public comments,” specifically against Broadway star Kecia Lewis, in an open letter.
“For as long as I have worked in the theatre, I have spoken my mind and never apologized. That is changing today.” LuPone said in her apology posted Saturday on social media.
Lupone issued the apology in response to a letter, dated May 30 and addressed to the American Theatre Wing, the national trade association for the Broadway theatre industry, calling on decision makers to “hold people accountable for violent, disrespectful, or harmful behavior.” More than 500 Broadway performers — including James Monroe Iglehart, Kalen Allen and Tatianna Córdoba — signed the open letter, which was first published in Playbill.
It comes after the New Yorker published an interview last week with 76-year-old LuPone, a White performer, in which she said of Lewis, who is a Black actress said: “Don’t call yourself a vet, bitch,” apparently referring to Lewis’ November 2024 video posted to her Instagram in which she spoke about LuPone’s behavior.
“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,” said the open letter.
LuPone’s issue with Lewis appeared to have began last fall when she starred in “The Roommate,” a two-woman show with Mia Farrow that was next door to “Hell’s Kitchen,” a musical inspired by Alicia Key’s life and music in which Lewis performed and won Tony for Best Featured Actress in a Musical.
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According to Lewis’ video, LuPone had made complaints about the noise from the musical, which led to changes to the sound design that “negatively impacted” the show and its performers. Lewis also brought up a video of LuPone refusing to sign a fan’s “Hell’s Kitchen” playbill because the musical is “too loud.”
“I wanted to address this because, Ms. LuPone, these actions, in my opinion, are bullying,” Lewis said in the video. “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.”
Lewis then asked LuPone, from one Broadway veteran to another, to apologize.
When asked, LuPone addressed the situation in the New Yorker article, saying, “This is not unusual on Broadway. This happens all the time when walls are shared.”
“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— she’s talking about,” LuPone told the New Yorker.
CBS News has reached out to LuPone and Lewis for comment.
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When the New Yorker asked about Audra McDonald, who appeared to support Lewis’ video, LuPone said: “That’s typical of Audra. She’s not a friend.” She added that the two had issues in the past, but didn’t go into details.
In her apology on Saturday, LuPone said she regrets her “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,” LuPone added. “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.”
McDonald, the most nominated and awarded performer in Tony Award history, told CBS News’ Gayle King in an interview set to air Tuesday on “CBS Mornings” that she had not seen LuPone in 11 years.
“If there’s a rift between us, I don’t know what it is. That’s something you’d have to ask Patti about,” McDonald said.
Next week on June 8, the Tony Awards are set to broadcast on CBS and stream on Paramount+. McDonald could add snatch her seventh Tony win thanks to the revival of “Gypsy.”
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/patti-lupone-broadway-open-letter/
