Patti LuPone Slammed For Shady Audra McDonald Comments

Celebrities slamming each other in interviews is certainly nothing new, but Broadway star Patti LuPone is realizing what happens when you publicly bash a beloved (and may we add history-making) star who is Black, beautiful, talented, and unproblematic. In this case, we’re talking about the one and only Audra McDonald.

In a recent interview with The New Yorker, LuPone decided to air her issues with McDonald (with whom she once had a very close friendship) by stating that McDonald was “not a friend.” When asked in the interview how she felt about McDonald’s current role on Broadway starring in Gypsy—a role in which she also played— LuPone opted for immense shade instead of an actual response.

As noted in the interview, she reportedly glanced outside for 15 seconds before finally answering with, “What a beautiful day.” McDonald is currently nominated for a Tony for her role in the stage show, and LuPone previously won a Tony for the same role back in 2008. 

Although LuPone said in the interview that their falling out occurred in the past, many believe that LuPone is now publicly bashing McDonald because she feels that McDonald didn’t support her when LuPone previously made comments on the of the Alicia Keys-produced musical, Hell’s Kitchen.

Now, McDonald is clapping back. In a clip from an interview with Gayle King on CBS Sunday Mornings, McDonald responded to LuPone’s interview, “If there’s a rift between us, I don’t know what it is.” She added, “That’s something you’d have to ask Patti about. You know, I haven’t seen her in about 11 years just because we’ve been busy just with life. So I don’t know what rift she’s talking about, but you’d have to ask her.” 

LuPone Shows Her White Privilege

Hell’s Kitchen star Kecia Lewis previously called out LuPone for calling the show “too loud,” comments which Lewis labeled as “bullying,” “offensive,” “racially microaggressive,” “rude” and “rooted in privilege.” 

LuPone responded to the incident in the interview, saying of Lewis, “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— she’s talking about. Don’t call yourself a vet, bitch!”

When told by New Yorker interviewer Michael Schulman that McDonald responded to Lewis’s post with supportive emojis, LuPone replied “Exactly,” she said. “And I thought, ‘You should know better.’ That’s typical of Audra.”

With her 2025 Tony nomination, McDonald is now the most-nominated performer in the history of the Tonys. She is also the winner of the most Tonys (for performance) with six statues.