{"id":1946,"date":"2025-06-01T23:01:11","date_gmt":"2025-06-01T23:01:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/musictechohio.online\/site\/patti-lupone-apology-kecia-lewis-audra-mcdonald-1235986975\/"},"modified":"2025-06-01T23:01:11","modified_gmt":"2025-06-01T23:01:11","slug":"patti-lupone-apology-kecia-lewis-audra-mcdonald-1235986975","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/musictechohio.online\/site\/patti-lupone-apology-kecia-lewis-audra-mcdonald-1235986975\/","title":{"rendered":"Patti LuPone Apologizes for Her \u2018Demeaning and Disrespectful\u2019 Comments on Kecia Lewis and Audra\u00a0McDonald"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\n\tPatti LuPone<\/a> has issued an apology after hundreds of members of the Broadway community condemned her recent remarks disparaging fellow\u00a0Broadway actresses Kecia Lewis and Audra McDonald.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cFor as long as I have worked in the theatre, I have spoken my mind and never apologized. That is changing today,\u201d LuPone wrote in the opening of a statement released via Instagram<\/a> on Saturday (May 31). <\/p>\n

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\t\t\t\t\tPatti LuPone Called Out by Broadway Community in Open Letter Condemning \u2018Bullying\u2019 & \u2018Harassment\u2026\t\t<\/p>\n<\/h3><\/div>\n

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\n\t\u201cI 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,\u201d said LuPone.<\/p>\n

\n\tLuPone\u2019s response arrived the day after after an open letter directed at her<\/a> \u2014 and signed by more than 500 individuals in the Broadway world \u2014 was published in outcry to comments from the actress perceived to be \u201cdegrading and misogynistic,\u201d as well as a \u201cblatant act of racialized disrespect.\u201d\u00a0The letter was also aimed at \u201ca culture, a pattern\u201d in the Broadway industry: \u201ca persistent failure to hold people accountable for violent, disrespectful, or harmful behavior \u2014 especially when they are powerful or well-known.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tIn Saturday\u2019s statement, LuPone acknowledged the message of the letter and expressed regret over what she said about her peers.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cI wholeheartedly agree with everything that was written in the open letter shared yesterday,\u201d she wrote. \u201cFrom middle school drama clubs to professional stages, theatre has always been about lifting each other up and welcoming those who feel they don\u2019t 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.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tThe New Yorker\u00a0<\/em>ran a profile on\u00a0LuPone earlier this week<\/a> that quoted her <\/a>calling Lewis \u2014 who\u2019s in the Alicia Keys-created Broadway musical\u00a0Hell\u2019s Kitchen<\/em>, which was performed next door to the LuPone-starring The Roommate<\/em> in 2024 \u2014 a \u201cb\u2014-\u201d for considering herself a stage \u201cveteran.\u201d<\/p>\n

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\t\t\t\t\tHere\u2019s How Audra McDonald Reacted to Patti LuPone Saying She\u2019s \u2018Not a\u00a0Friend\u2026\t\t<\/p>\n<\/h3><\/div>\n

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\n\tThe piece had LuPone recounting complaints she\u2019d made to Shubert Organization head Robert Wankel that sound from Lewis\u2019 Hell\u2019s Kitchen<\/em> could be heard during her stage time in The Roommate<\/em>. (Lewis had responded to LuPone\u2019s complaints on Instagram at the time, and deemed them \u201cbullying,\u201d \u201cracially microaggressive\u201d and \u201crooted in privilege\u201d for calling \u201ca Black show loud.\u201d)<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cShe calls herself a veteran?\u201d LuPone said in The New Yorker<\/em> article dated May 26. \u201cLet\u2019s find out how many Broadway shows Kecia Lewis has done, because she doesn\u2019t know what the f\u2014 she\u2019s talking about. Don\u2019t call yourself a vet, b\u2014-.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tLuPone also remarked that she had a \u201crift\u201d with McDonald, who\u2019d shown support for Lewis: \u201cThat\u2019s typical of Audra. She\u2019s not a friend,\u201d LuPone told The New Yorker<\/em>; McDonald later said she was unaware of the rift<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\n\tLuPone, a three-time Tony Award and two-time Grammy Award winner, in 2024 starred as Robyn opposite Mia Farrow\u2019s Sharon in The Roommate<\/em> for the dark comedy\u2019s four-month engagement on Broadway at the Booth Theatre. She just wrapped a series of concert dates that ran across select U.S. cities from late January through late May, with a couple festival appearances<\/a> slated for this summer.<\/p>\n

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\t\t\t\t\t‘Buena Vista Social Club,’ ‘Death Becomes Her’ and ‘Maybe Happy Ending’ Lead 2025 Tony Award\u2026\t\t<\/p>\n<\/h3><\/div>\n

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\n\tIn 2024 Lewis won her first Tony, for best featured actress in a musical, for her work as Miss Liza Jane in Hell\u2019s Kitchen<\/em>, the Broadway production whose performers were also awarded the Grammy for best musical theater album last year. Hell\u2019s Kitchen<\/em> is presently still playing on Broadway at the Shubert Theatre.<\/p>\n

\n\tMcDonald, currently leading the Broadway revival of Gypsy<\/em> at the Majestic Theatre, has won six Tonys, two Grammys and an Emmy throughout her career. Nominated for her portrayal of Rose in Gypsy<\/em>, she\u2019s up for another Tony, for best actress in a musical, at this year\u2019s ceremony. She holds a record number of total Tony nominations (11).<\/p>\n

\n\tThe 2025 Tony Awards will broadcast live to both coasts on CBS just a week from today, from 8 to 11 p.m. ET on Sunday, June 8; the show will also stream on\u00a0Paramount+<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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A post shared by Patti LuPone (@pattilupone)<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n