Overview
- Patti LuPone did not attend the 78th Tony Awards on June 8 after apologizing for disparaging comments about Kecia Lewis and Audra McDonald in a New Yorker profile.
- More than 500 Broadway professionals signed an open letter demanding that LuPone be disinvited from the ceremony over her “demeaning and disrespectful” remarks.
- Oprah Winfrey’s onstage quip “lotta talking going on” was widely interpreted as a subtle nod to the controversy surrounding LuPone.
- Audra McDonald said she was unaware of any rift and suggested asking LuPone for clarification, while Renée Elise Goldsberry and James Monroe Iglehart emphasized positivity and professional conduct.
- The incident has spurred a broader conversation within the theater world about respect, accountability and the conduct expected of its leading figures.