On the Tony Awards red carpet, James Monroe Iglehart, Renée Elise Goldsberry, Christopher Jackson and other Broadway artists and stars weighed in on the fallout surrounding Patti LuPone‘s controversial New Yorker interview.
The theater legend faced intense backlash following the story’s publication last month, in which she called “Hell’s Kitchen” star Kecia Lewis a “bitch” and stated that she was in a feud with Audra McDonald. LuPone later apologized for her “demeaning and disrespectful” remarks.
“In show business there is a professional way to behave and that’s how we’re going to be from here on out,” Iglehart told Variety‘s Gordon Cox. “I know there were times in the ‘before times’ where folks could act crazy and say whatever they want. You can say whatever you want, but there will be consequences.”
“Let’s just treat everybody with respect,” he added.
Goldsberry said she thought “people get really excited about discord.”
“When you’re talking about people as talented as Patti LuPone and Audra McDonald and Kecia, I just love all of those women so much, and I know that if they were all in a room together there would just be love in there,” she said.
Christopher Jackson, who is reuniting at the Tony Awards with the original Broadway cast of “Hamilton,” said his initial reaction to the piece was, “damn, read the room. Read the room.”
Danny Burstein, who is nominated for appearing opposite McDonald in “Gypsy,” said when he read the New Yorker article, he thought, “I’m staying out of this.”
In the New Yorker piece, which was published on May 26, LuPone addressed issues that arose last fall when she was appearing on Broadway in “The Roommate.” The Booth Theatre, where the show was performed, shared a wall with the Shubert Theatre, where the Alicia Keys musical “Hell’s Kitchen” was also being staged. LuPone complained to the head of the Shubert Organization about the loud noises that she could hear from next door, and sent flowers to the cast and crew of “Hell’s Kitchen” when the volume was lowered. But she was later criticized on social media by Lewis, who said LuPone’s behavior was “bullying” and “racially microaggressive.” McDonald liked Lewis’ message.
When LuPone was asked by the New Yorker about Lewis’ post, she questioned whether or not Lewis, who won a Tony for “Hell’s Kitchen” and has appeared frequently on stage, was a Broadway veteran. In the same interview she shaded McDonald’s work in “Gypsy,” taking on a role for which LuPone won her second of three Tony Awards. McDonald has won a record-setting six Tonys and is nominated for another prize for “Gypsy.”
In response, more than 500 performers and artists called on the Tony Awards in an open letter to disinvite LuPone. It’s unclear if LuPone will attend the ceremony.
On the red carpet, some performers expressed more conflicted feelings about LuPone.
“She’s just got balls,” Brooke Shields said. “Whether you agree or don’t agree, I’ve know her forever…she’s got guts. She’s Patti LuPone and she’s got a crazy talent…It’s not for me to judge.”
And other actors found creative ways to dodge the question about what they thought when the story came out.
“I don’t read,” Cole Escola, the star and creator of “Oh, Mary!,” quipped.
variety.com
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