Why Fans Think Oprah Winfrey Shaded Patti LuPone at The Tony Awards

By Gibson Johns Jun 09, 2025 5:45 PM

| Updated 5 minutes ago

The controversy blew open after The New Yorker published an interview with Patti May 26 in which she told Kecia to not call herself a Broadway veteran and declared that Audra was "not a friend." When asked what she thought of Audra’s current run as Rose in Gypsy—a role that Patti won a Tony for 17 years ago—Patti simply stared out the window for 15 seconds before simply turning to say, “What a beautiful day.”

Audra later shared that she was not aware that she and Patti even had a rift.

“If there is a rift between us, I don’t know what it is,” she said during an interview with Gayle King on CBS Mornings May 29. “That’s something you’d have to ask Patti about. I haven’t seen her in about 11 years, just because we’ve been busy just with life and stuff.”

She added, “I don’t know what rift she’s talking about but you’d have to ask her.”

After more than 600 members of the Broadway community signed an open letter not only condemning Patti's comments but also urging the Tony Awards to disinvite her from the ceremony (which she did not end up attending), the 76-year-old apologized for her "demeaning and disrespectful" words.

"I wholeheartedly agree with everything that was written in the open letter," she wrote on social media May 31. "I am deeply sorry. I regret my flippant and emotional responses during this interview, which were inappropriate, and I am devastated that my behavior has offended others and has run counter to what we hold dear in this community."

Patti added, "I hope to have the chance to speak to Audra and Kecia personally to offer my sincere apologies."