Patti LuPone has issued an apology following comments made about fellow Broadway stars Audra McDonald and Kecia Lewis.
In a recent New Yorker cover story, the three-time Tony-winning actor, 76, made a series of foul-mouthed remarks, attacking Hell’s Kitchen actor Lewis and Gypsy lead McDonald. One day after 500 members of the Broadway community condemned her behavior and “bullying” ways, she issued an apology for her words.
“For as long as I have worked in the theatre, I have spoken my mind and never apologized. That is changing today,” LuPone began in the statement posted to Instagram.
“I 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.”
LuPone continued, saying she hopes to speak to Lewis and McDonald personally to offer her “sincere apologies.”
LuPone continued her apology, focusing next on the letter published yesterday condemning her “degrading and misogynistic” comments.
“I wholeheartedly agree with everything that was written in the open letter shared yesterday,” LuPone said. “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,” she concluded before signing off with her name.
The drama began last November, while LuPone was starring in the Broadway play The Roommate and took issue with the loudness of the neighboring show, the Alicia Keys jukebox musical, Hell’s Kitchen. The sound was reportedly bleeding through from theater to theater, causing an issue for LuPone, who requested that the production’s sound cues be adjusted.
Hell’s Kitchen star Lewis later posted an Instagram video, demanding an apology from LuPone, accusing her of “offensive” and “bullying behavior.”
When asked about the incident in the New Yorker profile, LuPone fired back: “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*** she’s talking about.”
Elsewhere in the interview, LuPone was asked about McDonald’s show of support for Lewis’s Instagram post. “I thought, ‘You should know better.’ That’s typical of Audra. She’s not a friend,” the Evita actor snapped.
The open letter from the Broadway community addressed LuPone’s comments toward the pair of Tony winners, saying: “To publicly attack a woman [Lewis] who has contributed to this art form with such excellence, leadership, and grace — and to discredit the legacy of Audra McDonald, the most nominated and awarded performer in Tony Award history — is not simply a personal offense. It is a public affront to the values of collaboration, equity, and mutual respect that our theater community claims to uphold.
“This language is not only degrading and misogynistic — it is a blatant act of racialized disrespect,” it said. “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.”
The Independent has contacted LuPone’s representative for comment.
