What did Patti LuPone say about Audra McDonald? Broadway legend raises eyebrows with recent comments about her colleague
Patti LuPone, the renowned Broadway actress and singer, recently made headlines with her candid interview with The New Yorker, titled “Patti LuPone Is Done with Broadway – and Almost Everything Else,” published on May 26, 2025. During the interview, LuPone opened up about her strained relationship with fellow Broadway star Audra McDonald, revealing that they were no longer friends.
When asked about Audra’s latest production, Gypsy, Patti simply redirected the conversation by admiring the beautiful day outside, leaving the interviewer in an awkward silence for 15 seconds. This revelation shed light on the rift between the two performers, especially considering Audra’s Tony Award nomination for her role in GypsyThe Roommate, where she clashed with co-star Kecia Lewis from the neighboring musical production Hell’s Kitchen by Alicia Keys.
Following a noise complaint filed by LuPone, which was later resolved amicably, Kecia Lewis took to Instagram to criticize Patti for her behavior, labeling it as offensive and racially insensitive. In response, Patti expressed her disappointment in Audra McDonald for supporting Kecia’s sentiments, questioning Audra’s judgment and integrity.
The feud took a heated turn when Patti dismissed Kecia Lewis’s claim of being a Broadway veteran, asserting her own extensive experience with 31 Broadway shows compared to Lewis’s 10. The drama escalated further when Audra McDonald and Kecia Lewis’s co-stars Jessica Vosk and Shoshana Bean publicly criticized Patti on social media, aligning themselves with Lewis and McDonald.
This recent fallout adds to Patti LuPone’s history of conflicts with fellow Broadway stars, including a feud with Lillias White in 2022. Despite their shared professional history, including collaborations in productions like Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street and Rise and Fall of the City of Mahagonny, it seems that the relationship between Patti LuPone and Audra McDonald has reached a point of no return.
As the Broadway community watches this drama unfold, it remains to be seen whether reconciliation is possible between these two iconic performers. With both women boasting impressive accolades and contributions to the theater world, the fallout between Patti LuPone and Audra McDonald serves as a stark reminder of the complexities and challenges that come with life in the spotlight.
