In what Patti LuPone says is a major first for her, the Broadway star apologized Saturday after she was called out by hundreds of her colleagues over comments she made about two Black performers. "For as long as I have worked in the theatre, I have spoken my mind and never apologized. That is changing today," LuPone wrote on Instagram. "I am deeply sorry for the words I used during the New Yorker interview, particularly about Kecia Lewis, which were demeaning and disrespectful." She went on to call her comments "flippant and emotional" and "inappropriate," People reports. She said she hopes to have the chance to personally apologize to Lewis as well as Audra McDonald, whom she also referenced in the interview.
As the Washington Post reports, LuPone's incidents followed a November incident in which Lewis accused LuPone of bullying and racial microaggressions. LuPone had claimed Lewis' show, Hell's Kitchen, which was playing next door to LuPone's show, was too loud, and asked the owner of the theater to adjust the sound. Lewis was unhappy, given Black people have historically been subjected to stereotypes of loudness and aggression. In her apology statement, LuPone said she agreed with her colleagues' points. "From middle school drama clubs to professional stages, theatre has always been about lifting each other up and welcoming those who feel they don't belong anywhere else," she wrote. "I made a mistake, I take full responsibility for it, and I am committed to making this right. Our entire theatre community deserves better."
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