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Patti LuPone Called Out by Broadway Community in Open Letter Condemning ‘Bullying’ & ‘Harassment’

Patti Lupone has been condemned by the Broadway community in an open letter criticizing her recent comments about Audra McDonald and Kecia Lewis.

In the message published Friday (May 30) — just a few days after a New Yorker piece quoted LuPone as saying that McDonald was “not a friend” while calling Cole a “bi—” for labeling herself a stage “veteran” — the signatories wrote that the Agatha All Along star’s comments were “degrading and misogynistic,” as well as a “blatant act of racialized disrespect.” People who signed the letter include Courtney Love, as well as Tony winners James Monroe Iglehart, Maleah Joi Moon and Wendell Pierce. Though the signatories directly urged the American Theatre Wing and the Broadway League to disinvite LuPone from the 2025 Tony Awards — as well as other “industry events” such as “fundraisers and public programs” — they also insisted that their message was about “more than one person.” Shortly after LuPone’s complaint, Lewis posted an Instagram video labeling the icon’s actions as “bullying,” “racially microaggressive” and “rooted in privilege” for calling “a Black show loud.”

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