“ACTUALLY THERE’S BEEN A MISTAKE!” - Fans get upset as actress Audra McDonald did not win at the Tony Awards 2025
Audra McDonald, best known for her performance on Broadway, was one of the contenders for Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Musical at the Tony Awards. She was nominated for her portrayal of Mama Rose in the musical Gypsy, inspired by the 1957 memoirs of striptease artist Gypsy Rose Lee.
Nicole Scherzinger won the award this year for her debut Broadway performance as Norma Desmond in the musical, Sunset Boulevard, beating McDonald.
However, some fans are convinced that McDonald deserved to win the award, as one of them wrote on X:
"ACTUALLY THERE’S BEEN A MISTAKE! AUDRA MCDONALD YOU WON LEAD ACTRESS IN A MUSICAL!"
Other fans expressed similar sentiments on X, claiming Audra McDonald deserved the Tony Award for Best Actress.
"Audra lowkey deserved the leading actress tony" - another fan wrote.
"It’s insane audra did not take it sorry" - another fan mused.
"There is no way in hell Audra McDonald lost that Tony…" - another fan added.
Fans continued to express their disappointment with McDonald not winning the award. As reported by People Magazine, the role of Mama Rose is considered one of the toughest in the history of Broadway musicals.
"that’s audra’s award" - another fan wrote.
"I rebuke Nicole winning over Audra. That didn’t happen." - another fan added.
"Im sorry audra shoulda won" - another fan mused.
McDonald has been nominated for eleven Tony Awards so far and has won six out of them. She won her sixth Tony Award for her performance in the play Lady Day at Emerson's Bar and Grill in 2014.
Audra McDonald was not concerned about winning at the 78th Tony Awards
While studying classical voice at the Juilliard School, Audra McDonald made her Broadway debut as an Ayah in the musical The Secret Garden. In 1994, she won her first Tony Award in the category of Best Featured Actress in a Musical for Carousel. In 1996, she won her second Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Play.
According to Hollywood Reporter, McDonald began performing at the age of 9 and, at 54, has earned a record-breaking 11 Tony Award nominations, more than any other performer in Broadway history. However, winning it for a seventh time was not high on her list of priorities.
In an interview with TIME in May 2025, McDonald said that while she would be honored to break her own record with a seventh win, she does not perform for the awards.
"They don’t change your life per se. They change people’s perception of you, people’s expectations of you," she stated.
The Private Practice actress further explained:
"It’s an incredible honor, but it’s almost like you have nothing to do with you actually winning a Tony. You can do your work, and that’s it. All I can do is do my work."
McDonald has also been nominated for 5 Primetime Emmy Awards and won the award in the Outstanding Special Class Program category for the musical Sweeney Todd (Live from Lincoln Center) in 2015. She has appeared in several TV shows such as The Good Wife and its spin-off, The Good Fight.
