Patti LuPone apologizes to Audra McDonald and Kecia Lewis amid controversy

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Patti LuPone

The Tony Award-winning actor apologized for her controversial remarks about the veteran Broadway stars of Gypsy and Hell's Kitchen.

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Patti LuPone has shared a new statement apologizing for her controversial remarks about Audra McDonald and Kecia Lewis in an interview published earlier this week.

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A lengthy profile on The New Yorker included controversial statements from LuPone questioning and dismissing Lewis's status as a fellow Broadway legend. "She calls herself a veteran?" LuPone said. The same piece brought up McDonald, who was not only perceived as a peer to LuPone, but also a close friend. "She's not a friend," LuPone told The New Yorker when asked about McDonald.

On Saturday, May 31, LuPone shared a public apology for those remarks. The full statement reads:

"For as long as I have worked in the theatre, I have spoken my mind and never apologized. That is changing today.

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. I hope to have the chance to speak to Audra and Kecia personally to offer my sincere apologies.

I wholeheartedly agree with everything that was written in the open letter shared yesterday. 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."

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Between these new comments about McDonald and Lewis, along with LuPone's recent stance on Lillias White for interrupting a performance of Hadestown and calling out an audience member for using their phone at the theater — a mistake, as it was subsequently clarified that the device looked like a phone but was used as a hearing aid tool — many critics, Broadway stars, and theater fans called out LuPone for what seemed to be a pattern of dismissing the incredible careers of three Black women who have also starred in several productions and have also won numerous awards, just like LuPone.

On Thursday, May 29, CBS Mornings shared a preview clip of an interview between McDonald and Gayle King. While the full interview has yet to be released, the preview showed King asking McDonald about LuPone's remarks in The New Yorker piece.

"If there's a rift between us, it's… I don't know what it is," McDonald told King. "That's something that you'd have to ask Patti about, you know? I haven't seen her in about 11 years, just because we've been busy."