More
    HomeCelebsExclusive | Sheryl Lee Ralph chides Patti LuPone for nasty comments about...

    Exclusive | Sheryl Lee Ralph chides Patti LuPone for nasty comments about Audra McDonald: ‘Why not be nice?’

    Published on

    spot_img



    Sheryl Lee Ralph believes Patti LuPone should have kept her negative comments about Broadway stars Audra McDonald and Kecia Lewis to herself.

    “Why not be nice?” the “Abbott Elementary” star queried to Page Six at the Gotham Television Awards red carpet Monday night.

    However, Ralph was quick to note that she’s “not going to judge” LuPone — who was branded a “bully” by the theater community — because “too often we don’t see all the sides of what might have been going on.”

    Sheryl Lee Ralph believes Patti LuPone’s should have kept recent comments about Kecia Lewis and Audra McDonald to herself. Getty Images for The Gotham Film & Media Institute
    “Inner thoughts don’t always have to be outer thoughts,” the actress told Page Six at the Gotham Awards Monday. Page Six

    “It was a moment where maybe you want to zip it,” the “Dreamgirls” star added. “Inner thoughts don’t always have to be outer thoughts, that might have been one of those moments.”

    Ralph also congratulated McDonald for “keeping it classy” in her response to the ordeal.

    LuPone found herself in hot water last week for calling Lewis, who won a Tony last year for “Hell’s Kitchen,” a “bitch” and mocking her for referring to herself as a Broadway veteran.

    Ralph, who starred in the original production of “Dreamgirls,” asked, “Why not be nice?” Courtesy Everett Collection
    Patti LuPone described Lewis as a “bitch” in a recent New Yorker interview. Getty Images for GLAAD

    LuPone also claimed she was no longer friends with McDonald.

    She then pointedly refused to reply whether she had seen the actress’ Tony-nominated turn as Mama Rose in “Gypsy.”

    Days after LuPone’s controversial interview, over 500 Broadway artists banded together to issue a scathing response in an open letter.

    LuPone also belittled Lewis’ Broadway credits. Getty Images
    LuPone stated her and McDonald were no longer friends, but didn’t elaborate on a reason. WireImage

    “Recently, Patti LuPone made deeply inappropriate and unacceptable public comments about two of Broadway’s most respected and beloved artists,” the letter read, calling LuPone’s comments “degrading and misogynistic” and “a blatant act of racialized disrespect.”

    The letter called out LuPone for “bullying,” “harassment,” and using “microaggressions and abuse that people in this industry have endured for far too long, too often without consequence.”

    The outspoken performer issued an apology via social media.

    “For as long as I have worked in the theatre, I have spoken my mind and never apologized. That is changing today,” LuPone wrote in a statement shared to her Instagram Saturday.

    The “Evita” star was also rude when asked about Audra McDonald’s performance in “Gypsy.” WireImage
    Ralph praised McDonald for her “classy” response to the nasty comments. Los Angeles Times via Getty Images

    “I am deeply sorry for the words I used during ‘The New Yorker’ interview, particularly about Kecia Lewis, which were demeaning and disrespectful.”

    The actress, 76, added that she feels “regret” over her “flippant” and “emotional” comments about her colleagues, and hopes to apologize to them in person.

    Meanwhile, McDonald, 54, gracefully commented on the alleged rift when asked about it on “CBS Sundays.”

    Ralph, who co-stars in “Abbott Elementary,” was on hand to receive the Sidney Poitier Icon Tribute. ABC
    Ralph has been on screen since the mid-70s. Getty Images for The Gotham Film & Media Institute

    “If there’s a rift between us, I don’t know what it is,” the “Good Fight” actress said. “That’s something you’d have to ask Patti about.”

    Ralph, who called herself a “mothering” figure, was not the only big name at the Gotham Television Awards, where she was honored with the Sidney Poitier Icon Tribute for her long career, which began in the mid-70s.

    Other celebs included Jenny Slate, Parker Posey, Carrie Coon, James Scully, Elisabeth Moss and Ramy Youssef.



    Source link

    Latest articles

    More like this