Overview

• Patti LuPone said she was “deeply sorry” for her demeaning and disrespectful language about Kecia Lewis and Audra McDonald and pledged to take full responsibility for her words.
• More than 600 Broadway artists signed an open letter condemning her comments as racialized disrespect, bullying, and harassment within the theater community.
• Signatories asked the Broadway League and American Theatre Wing to bar any artist who publicly demeans colleagues from industry events, including the upcoming Tony Awards.
• The dispute traces back to a late-2024 noise complaint LuPone filed against the Hell’s Kitchen musical next door, which Lewis accused her of handling in a racialized, microaggressive manner.
• Audra McDonald, who hasn’t spoken with LuPone in about 11 years, expressed surprise at the feud and said she was unaware of any rift between them.