What did Patti LuPone say about Kecia Lewis? Broadway legend issues apology over "demeaning and disrespectful" comments
Actress Patti LuPone has publicly apologized to fellow Broadway actresses Audra McDonald and Kecia Lewis on May 31, 2025. After LuPone's May 26, 2025, interview with The New Yorker was released, the actress received backlash for her comments about Lewis and McDonald.
On May 30, 2025, Friday, more than 500 members of the Broadway community, including actors Wendell Pierce, Maleah Joi Moon, and James Monroe Iglehart, published an open letter condemning Patti LuPone's comments about the two actresses.
On Saturday, LuPone stated in an Instagram post that she regrets her responses during the interview and would like to personally offer Lewis and McDonald an apology.
According to Deadline's May 31, 2025, report, the issue originated in November 2024. LuPone and Mia Farrow starred in The Roommate at Broadway's Booth Theatre, which is right next to the Shubert Theatre, where the musical Hell's Kitchen played.
LuPone complained to Shubert Organization about the loud music, and subsequently, Hell's Kitchen actress Kecia Lewis called her out in an Instagram video for alleged "bullying" and being "racially microaggressive."
In LuPone's latest The New Yorker interview, when she was asked about the incident, she called Lewis a "b***h" for referring to herself as a "veteran" in the video.
"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. She's done seven. I've done thirty-one. Don't call yourself a vet, b*tch," LuPone stated.
When the interviewer mentioned Audra McDonald and her showing support for Lewis in the video's comment section, LuPone said McDonald was not her friend.
"And I thought, You should know better. That's typical of Audra. She's not a friend," the actress said.
What did Kecia Lewis say about Patti LuPone last year?
Actress Kecia Lewis publicly called out Patti LuPone on November 3, 2024. The Broadway star stated that while rehearsing, LuPone complained to the theatre owner, saying that the Hell's Kitchen rehearsal was "too loud." After the sound and stage management team adjusted the sound cues, LuPone sent them flowers with a thank-you card.
Lewis also said that the actress refused to sign a fan's Hell's Kitchen playbill and showed the clip in which Patti LuPone stated that she wouldn't sign because the cast and crew were loud. Kecia Lewis said that these actions can reinforce stereotypes and are also dismissive towards the cast.
"In our industry, language holds power and shapes perception, often in ways that we may not immediately realize. Referring to a predominantly Black Broadway show as loud can unintentionally reinforce harmful stereotypes, and it also feels dismissive of the artistry and the voices that are being celebrated on stage," the actress said.
Patti LuPone's latest project, the third season of HBO's Sex and the City reboot, And Just Like That..., is currently available to stream on Max.
