Patti LuPone has apologised for her “demeaning and disrespectful” comments about fellow Broadway stars Kecia Lewis and Audra McDonald after an open letter began circulating last week.

The letter called for “accountability, justice and respect” in the wake of LuPone’s comments during an interview with The New Yorker, where she disputed Lewis’s self-identification as a Broadway veteran, called her a “bitch”, and said that McDonald was “not a friend”.

Patti Lupone. Photo courtesy Wikimedia Commons

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

“I wholeheartedly agree with everything that was written in the open letter… I made a mistake, I take full responsibility for it, and I am committed to making this right.”

The controversy began during the 2024 Broadway runs of The Roommate and Hell’s Kitchen, which starred LuPone and Lewis respectively. LuPone, 76, who was performing in the Booth Theatre, complained to the Shubert Organisation about audio bleeding from Hell’s Kitchen in the neighbouring Shubert Theatre, and sent flowers to the crew once the sound was turned down.

She was also...