Audra McDonald has a swift response to Patti LuPone’s interpretation of their relationship, or lack thereof. Speaking with Gayle King for CBS Mornings, the Broadway star discussed LuPone’s claim that the two women are not friends. A clip of the interview was shared by the platform across social media, with the full conversation due to air next week.
“I mean, if there’s a rift between us, I don’t know what it is. That’s something you’d have to ask Patti about,” detailed McDonald. She also expressed that she was “surprised” by LuPone’s comments.
“I haven’t seen her in about 11 years because I’ve been busy with life and stuff,” added the 54-year-old. “So, I don’t know what rift she’s talking about. You’d have to ask her.”
Earlier this week, The New Yorker released a profile of LuPone where she exclaimed, “She’s not a friend,” and claimed there to be a longstanding rift between her and McDonald.
Elsewhere in the profile, LuPone was asked of McDonald’s portrayal of Rose in Gypsy. McDonald is currently nominated for a Tony Award for the role. LuPone won the trophy for her performance as the same character in the past. Journalist Michael Schulman claimed that LuPone looked outside in silence for 15 seconds before responding, “What a beautiful day.”
According to The Hollywood Reporter, the two women have worked together multiple times, including the 2007 Los Angeles Opera production of Rise and Fall of the City of Mahagonny. They were also co-stars in the 2000 New York Philharmonic’s concert version of Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street.
Kecia Lewis attends “Hell’s Kitchen” On Broadway First Anniversary Celebration at Shubert Theatre on April 09, 2025 in New York City.
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In her profile, LuPone also made disparaging remarks about Broadway actress Kecia Lewis. According to Playbill, last year, LuPone was on Broadway in The Roommate, which shared a wall with Alicia Keys’s Hell’s Kitchen, where Lewis performed. A noise complaint was filed where the cast of The Roommate requested that the Hell’s Kitchen sound design could be modified.
A video of where LuPone personally complained circulated across social media and prompted an open letter video response from Lewis. In the clip, she labeled LuPone’s comments a “microaggression” for a “Black show loud in a way that dismisses it.” Notably, the upload was supported by McDonald with multiple emojis in the comments, per The New York Times.
“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 f**k she’s talking about,” LuPone exclaimed in The New Yorker in response to the video. “Don’t call yourself a vet, bi**h.”
Both Lewis and McDonald have received support from their fellow actors and Broadway peers.
“I don’t play about the women who set the blueprint and inspired generations of artists, specifically, Black women…So many of us wouldn’t have dared to try if it weren’t for you. I thank you, Queens,” exclaimed Tony winner Adrienne Warren on Instagram. Actress Viola Davis commented with supportive heart and raised fist emojis.
Actress Yvette Nicole Brown declared, “Lemme tell you what we NOT gon’ do… allow the slander of these ICONS. I don’t care WHO it is,” in a lengthy caption on Instagram. She continued, “When one of us is mistreated and we don’t speak up and fight for them, the malignant belief that the continued abuse of us is okay — permeates.”
Davis also commented on Brown’s upload writing, “Love,love them!! I will fight for them as fervently as I fight for anyone I love.
Tony winner Donna Murphy also took to Instagram with support.
“I’ve had the privilege of knowing, working with, and being awed by these two veteran artists since the 1990s. They each were stars from my very first encounter with them. Those 1st encounters for me were as an audience member, being blown away by their astounding gifts,” she reflected.
“We live lives of uncertainty. Add to that being women of color who have historically been undervalued, mistreated, and worse. Praise them, raise them up, honor them. And in my case: love them. Sending my love & deepest respect to these two superstars.”
According to Playbill, Lewis’ Hell’s Kitchen co-star, Shoshana Bean, Bernice King, the daughter of Martin Luther King Jr., and playwright Bryan-Keyth Wilson, also spoke up for one or both women.
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