More than 500 Broadway artists have signed an open letter condemning Patti LuPone for her disparaging comments about fellow stage actresses Audra McDonald and Kecia Lewis.
ICYMI, the theatre star gave an interview for The New Yorker earlier this week in which she responded to earlier criticisms levelled against her by Lewis.
The source of that beef dates back to November, when LuPone was starring in the Broadway play The Roommate at the Booth Theatre, right next door to where Lewis was performing in the Alicia Keys jukebox musical, Hell’s Kitchen.
In comments that quickly went viral, LuPone said Lewis’ nearby musical was “too loud”, prompting Lewis to share a six-minute video on social media requesting an apology from LuPone and describing her comments as “offensive”, “racially microaggressive” and “rude”.
“Microaggressions can seem harmless or minor, but can accumulate and cause significant stress or discomfort for the recipient,” Lewis said in the video.
“Examples include calling a Black show loud in a way that dismisses it… Ms. LuPone, I respectfully submit to you that you owe us an apology.”
At the time, Lewis received support in her statement from fellow Tony-winner McDonald, who reacted with a series of friendly emojis under Lewis’ original video, according to The New Yorker (though all comments have since been removed).
Flash-forward to this month and the beef was reignited when LuPone addressed Lewis’ video in her profile for The New Yorker.
“She calls herself a veteran?” LuPone said of Lewis.
“Let’s find out how many Broadway shows Kecia Lewis has done, because she doesn’t know what the fuck she’s talking about.
“Don’t call yourself a vet, bitch!”
LuPone then reacted to McDonald, saying the stage actress is “not a friend” and refusing to answer a question about McDonald’s current role in Gypsy, a musical LuPone also previously starred in.
In the wake of the article, hundreds of Broadway artists have now signed an open letter denouncing LuPone’s comments and requesting that she be disinvited from the upcoming Tony Awards.
The letter — which was shared by Playbill and counts stars like Wendell Pierce, James Monroe Iglehart and Courtney Love as signatories — described LuPone’s comments as “deeply inappropriate and unacceptable”.
“This language is not only degrading and misogynistic — it is a blatant act of racialised disrespect,” the letter reads.
“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.”
Elsewhere, the statement called on the American Theatre Wing and the Broadway League to take “immediate action” in response to LuPone’s comments, saying those “who use their platform to publicly demean… should not be welcomed at industry events”.
“We write not to shame or isolate, but to speak with honesty, clarity, and care,” it continued.
“This is a call for accountability, justice, and respect.
“We believe our community can do better. We believe it must do better.”
LuPone has yet to respond to the open letter, but it’s not the first time the star — whose screen projects include Agatha All Along and American Horror Story — has landed herself in hot water, having traded barbs with everyone from Madonna to Andrew Lloyd Webber over the years.
Even within the same New Yorker profile, LuPone took aim at Glenn Close, Sarah Palin and her ex-partner, Kevin Kline.
