by Chris Peterson, Founder
The fallout from Patti LuPone’s recent New Yorker interview, where she took pointed jabs at fellow Broadway stars Kecia Lewis and Audra McDonald, has only grown louder. And this time, the community isn’t staying quiet.
After individual artists and even McDonald herself offered thoughtful public responses, an open letter has begun circulating throughout the theatre industry, demanding real accountability. Over 500 artists have signed it so far, including Tony winners James Monroe Iglehart, Maleah Joi Moon, and Wendell Pierce. Yes, even Courtney Love added her name. The full letter is available to read online, and artists are still being invited to sign on.
Addressed to the Broadway League, the American Theatre Wing, and the broader theatre community, the letter wastes no time in calling LuPone’s remarks what they were: degrading and misogynistic, a blatant act of racialized disrespect. 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.
And let me just say—I agree with every word of it.
This kind of response is long overdue, and I hope it sets a precedent. Holding someone accountable isn’t about canceling their career. It’s about protecting the dignity and safety of the community. When someone uses their platform to belittle, harass, or dismiss fellow artists, they should not be handed front-row seats at industry events like nothing happened. And frankly, this kind of clear, public pushback should be the standard. It should be applied in other high-profile situations, too, like the bullying we saw from Scott Rudin(I look forward to that letter with his comeback), or repeated mishandling of sexual misconduct allegations that have gone ignored for far too long.
The letter urges the League and the Wing to disinvite LuPone, and others who use their platform to publicly demean, harass, or disparage fellow artists, from events like the Tony Awards. It also asks that anyone who wants to re-engage with the community after such harm be required to complete anti-bias or restorative justice training. And it calls for the establishment of actual, concrete policies to address harmful behavior.
To be clear, the League and the Wing are the producers of the Tony Awards. Both organizations have stated in the past that diversity, equity, and inclusion are among their core values, but there has been little movement on creating enforceable, industry-wide standards.
So how did we get here?
It goes back to last year when LuPone was starring in The Roommate, which played next door to Hell’s Kitchen, where Kecia Lewis is currently giving a powerhouse, Tony-winning performance. There was a noise complaint. LuPone and her cast allegedly asked if Hell’s Kitchen could turn it down a notch. Then a video surfaced of LuPone mocking the show’s volume, and Lewis responded on Instagram, calling it a microaggression to label a majority Black cast “too loud.” She asked LuPone for an apology.
Instead of reflection, LuPone, when asked about it in her New Yorker profile, went nuclear.
“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 fuck she’s talking about.” She Googled. “She’s done seven. I’ve done thirty-one. Don’t call yourself a vet, bitch.”
For the record, Lewis has done ten Broadway shows and won a Tony Award. LuPone has done 28.
Then the conversation turned to Audra McDonald. New Yorker writer Michael Schulman noted that Audra had publicly supported Lewis. LuPone replied, “You should know better. That’s typical of Audra. She’s not a friend”—hard “D.” She said there was a rift between them but declined to say what it was.
Asked to comment on McDonald’s performance in Gypsy, LuPone, who famously starred in the show herself, refused to answer.
But Audra, ever the class act, responded when asked about it by Gayle King on CBS. “If there’s a rift between us, I don’t know what it is,” she said calmly. “That’s something you’d have to ask Patti about. I haven’t seen her in about 11 years. We’ve just been busy with life and stuff. So I don’t know what rift she’s talking about, but you’d have to ask her.”
This moment has become something larger than one artist’s outburst. It’s shining a spotlight on what’s tolerated in the theatre world, and who’s expected to stay quiet when harm is done.
And this letter? It’s loud and clear. And I hope it’s just the beginning.
