Audra McDonald Doesn't Know What Patti LuPone Rift is About

Audra McDonald has addressed recent remarks made by Patti LuPone, who in a widely circulated New Yorker interview called the six-time Tony Award winner “not a friend.” In an interview with CBS Mornings, McDonald responded. “If there's a rift between us, I don't know what it is. That's something that you'd have to ask Patti about. I haven't seen her in about 11 years—just because we've been busy with life and stuff. So I don't know what rift she's talking about. But, you'd have to ask her..." said McDonald.

The comment from LuPone was made in response to McDonald’s subtle show of support last year for fellow Broadway performer Kecia Lewis, who publicly criticized LuPone over a noise complaint involving Hell’s Kitchen, the musical in which Lewis starred.

The incident began during LuPone’s 2023 run in The Roommate, which shared a wall with Hell’s Kitchen. LuPone raised concerns over sound bleeding into her production and said she asked The Shubert Organization to address it. In November, Lewis posted a video to Instagram calling out LuPone’s complaint, characterizing it as “bullying,” “offensive,” and “racially microaggressive.” She said, “Referring to a predominantly Black Broadway show as loud can unintentionally reinforce harmful stereotypes.”

McDonald, a founding member of Black Theater United, responded to Lewis’s post with a series of supportive emojis. In The New Yorker profile, writer Michael Schulman asked LuPone about McDonald’s emoji comment. LuPone replied: “Exactly. And I thought, You should know better. That’s typical of Audra. She’s not a friend.”

LuPone declined to elaborate on the nature of the alleged rift with McDonald. When asked in the same interview what she thought of McDonald’s performance in the current revival of Gypsy - a role LuPone once won a Tony Award for - LuPone declined to comment, saying nothing for fifteen seconds before turning to the window and remarking, “What a beautiful day.”

LuPone also used sharp language in reference to Lewis, questioning her veteran status and saying, “Don’t call yourself a vet, bitch.” The New Yorker noted that LuPone misstated both her own and Lewis’s Broadway credits.

The backlash to LuPone’s comments has been swift. Many in the Broadway community have expressed support for McDonald and Lewis. Tony winner Adrienne Warren wrote: “I don’t play about the women who set the blueprint and inspired generations of artists, specifically, Black women.”

Shoshana Bean, who appeared opposite Lewis in Hell’s Kitchen, criticized LuPone’s remarks, stating: “Speaking this way about any woman is unacceptable to me. Let alone a Black woman.”

On May 28, Lewis posted a video celebrating the number of Broadway shows currently led by Black women, including Gypsy, BOOP!, Purpose, and Hell’s Kitchen - all on 44th street between Broadway and 8th Ave. “We’re living in good times here on Broadway,” she said.