Tuesday, June 10, 2025 - Oprah Winfrey stirred the room at the 2025 Tony Awards with a pointed remark that many interpreted as a subtle jab at Broadway legend Patti LuPone, following weeks of public tension involving LuPone and fellow stage veterans Kecia Lewis and Audra McDonald.
While presenting the award for Best Performance by a Leading
Actress in a Musical, Oprah praised the theater community, saying, “Our
celebration of this astounding year in live theater turns to the women whose
work sparked lively conversations among theater fans.” She then paused and
added with a sly expression, “Lotta talking going on!” The comment drew
laughter from the audience and was widely seen as a veiled reference to the
recent offstage drama that has gripped the Broadway world.
Audra McDonald, one of the actresses at the center of the
controversy, was in attendance as a nominee in the very category Oprah was
presenting. McDonald ultimately lost to Nicole Scherzinger for her performance
in Sunset Boulevard. Patti LuPone, however, was noticeably absent.
The backdrop to Oprah’s remark is LuPone’s widely discussed
profile in The New Yorker, where she was quoted calling Lewis a
“bitch” and claiming she “doesn’t know what the f*** she’s talking about.” The
outburst was in response to Lewis criticizing LuPone’s earlier complaints about
noisy music rehearsals, which Lewis described as “micro aggressive.”
The fallout was swift. More than 500 members of the Broadway
community signed an open letter condemning LuPone’s comments, prompting the
actress to issue a public apology.
While Oprah never named names, her quip added a new chapter
to the ongoing saga, showcasing how real-life drama continues to spill beyond
the stage and into the industry’s most prestigious nights.
0 Comments