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3d ago

Patti LuPone Labels Audra McDonald ‘Not a Friend’ in Broadway Rift

The profile has prompted both praise of her candor alongside backlash over perceived aggression toward fellow performers.

(L) Patti LuPone speaks onstage during the 36th Annual GLAAD Media Awards at The Beverly Hilton on March 27, 2025 in Beverly Hills, California. (R) Audra McDonald attends the "Superfine: Tailoring Black Style" Met Gala at the Metropolitan Museum of Art on May 5, 2025 in New York City.
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Tony Award winner Kecia Lewis. (Getty)
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Overview

  • In a New Yorker profile published May 26, LuPone revealed she and McDonald had a long-ago falling out that ended their friendship.
  • She reignited last year’s noise dispute with Hell’s Kitchen star Kecia Lewis by challenging Lewis’s Broadway credits and calling her “bitch.”
  • When asked about McDonald’s Tony-nominated turn as Rose in Gypsy, LuPone paused for 15 seconds before sighing, “What a beautiful day.”
  • The two icons previously co-starred in the 2000 Sweeney Todd concert and the 2007 LA Opera production of Rise and Fall of the City of Mahagonny.
  • Reactions among peers and on social media remain divided, with some applauding LuPone’s straight talk and others decrying her remarks as harsh.