Actress, singer, and Broadway legend Patti LuPone is issuing an apology after “racialized, demeaning, and disrespectful” comments about fellow marquee actors Audra McDonald and Kecia Lewis.
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In an interview with the New Yorker, Patti LuPone, 76, talked about Kecia Lewis and LuPone’s failed friendship with Tony Award-decorated Broadway star Audra McDonald.
LuPone was asked about a controversy that circulated during her time co-starring in ‘The Roommate’ with Mia Farrow last Fall. The play, which has since closed, shared a wall with Alicia Keys’ Tony Award-winning musical, ‘Hell’s Kitchen,’ which features Kecia Lewis.
LuPone reportedly asked for the sound design of ‘Hell’s Kitchen’ to be adjusted as the music would bleed through the shared walls. She also sent the sound and stage management team flowers and thank-you note after they obliged. However, Lewis posted a video on Instagram in November in response to the move. She called LuPone’s actions “racially microaggressive” and “rooted in privilege,” because she had labeled “a Black show loud.”
The producers of ’The Roommate’ then shared a statement the next day thanking the ‘Hell’s Kitchen’ staff for fixing the sound. The statement in part read, “These kinds of sound accommodations from one show to another are not unusual and are always deeply appreciated.”
Patti LuPone Slams Kecia Lewis And Calls Her A ‘B*tch,’ Says Audra McDonald Is ‘Not A Friend’
LuPone recalled the back-and-forth in her New Yorker interview. She scoffed, “Oh, my God. 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.”
After doing a quick Google search, she said, “She’s done seven. I’ve done 31. Don’t call yourself a vet, b*tch.“ However, the New Yorker noted that Lewis has actually done 10 shows and Lupone has 28. LuPone continued to explain the noise issues, claiming, “This is not unusual on Broadway. This happens all the time when walls are shared.”
When told about Audra McDonald reportedly leaving “supportive emojis” under Lewis’ post (which has since turned had its comments turned off), LuPone said, “Exactly. And I thought, You should know better. That’s typical of Audra. She’s not a friend.”
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The New Yorker reports that LuPone and McDonald had a rift long ago and that she did not want to elaborate. Furthermore, when asked about McDonald’s current production of ‘Gypsy,’ LuPone reportedly “started at [the reporter] in silence for fifteen seconds, turned to the window, sighed, and said, ‘What a beautiful day.’”
Since her interview in the New Yorker, she’s been highly criticized by people online, people in the Broadway and entertainment community, and more. Subsequently, on Saturday (May 31), Patti LuPone issued a mea cupla and apologized after more than 600 members of the Broadway community signed an open letter condemning her and her words about Kecia Lewis and Audra McDonald.
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