Audra McDonald to Madonna, Patti LuPone's feud with celebrities explored

Actress Patti LuPone is as well known for her acting chops on the stage as she is for holding a grudge.

Over the years, the three-time Tony Award winner has not held back while criticizing her colleagues. LuPone’s open and biting criticism of fellow performers and composers has led to decades-long feuds.

About Patti LuPone’s feud with Andrew Lloyd Webber

Patti LuPone and the musical theatre composer, Andrew Lloyd Webber have a long history of friendship as well as feuding. LuPone first worked with Webber on the production of Evita on Broadway in 1979. The role led to LuPon winning her first Tony in 1980.

Following Evita, LuPone and Webber collaborated on Sunset Boulevard’s London production in 1993, with LuPone playing the lead role of Norma Desmond. For the Broadway production of the musical, Lupone was replaced with Glenn Close, who played Norma in the Los Angeles production, as per Daily Mail.

The publication notes that LuPone came to realize that she was sacked from a gossip column, and proceeded to wreck her dressing room with a floor lamp.

LuPon went on to sue Webber for $1 million, and having won the lawsuit, used the payout to install an “Andrew Lloyd Webber Memorial Pool” at her residence, as per Daily Mail.

Staring a decades-long feud with Webber, LuPone began bad-mouthing the composer in interviews. US Weekly reported that LuPone once said about Webber:

“In [Evita's] bizarreness, when I first heard it, I swear to god I thought he hated women. There are some very romantic moments in his music, and then there is some real trash that he doesn’t even think about parting with. He’s not a very good editor of his own stuff.”

Eventually, having participated in a tribute for Webber at the Grammys in 2018, fans thought LuPone had put her grievance with the composer aside, as per Vulture.

However, LuPone reignited the quarrel again in 2024 when she, during an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, criticised Sunset Boulevard and Webber’s actions at the time:

“Andrew Lloyd Webber is a narcissistic, insecure man. So, there’ll be no explanation for that except that he didn’t get what he wanted in London and thought he would get it in New York. It’s still a shitty musical.”

In a recent conversation with The New Yorker, LuPone revealed that being rejected for Sunset Boulevard’s Broadway production took a huge toll on her marriage and mental health, with the actress needing to take medication as a result.

Patti Lupone’s beef with Madonna

Patti Lupone is known for also feuding with the queen of pop herself. LuPone’s grievance with Madonna is related to Webber’s musical Evita. Evita was adapted into a movie in 1996, and for the lead role of Eva Perón, Madonna was chosen over LuPone.

As per US Weekly, during a 2017 episode of Watch What Happens Live, LuPone responded to a fan question about Madonna’s role in the film, and said:

“I was on the treadmill when MTV used to have videos and I saw, I believe it was ‘Buenos Aires,’ and I thought it was a piece of s**t. Madonna is a ‘movie-killer!’ She’s dead behind the eyes, she cannot act her way out of a paper bag. She should not be on film or on stage.”

US Weekly noted that while LuPone agreed that Madonna was a good performer, she also declared that the singer was not fit to be an actress.

In 2024, LuPone’s quibble with Madonna cropped up on an episode of Hot Ones Versus, when Aubrey Plaza asked the actress to apologize to the pop star or eat the spiciest wing the show has to offer. Instead of apologizing, LuPone ate the wing instead. She also added:

“I've seen her on stage and I saw her in a movie and I went, 'Um, okay.’ There’s just some things some people can't do, and you just gotta admit you cant do it, that's all. Or don't even try it! Everybody cant do everything.”

Patti LuPone vs. Kecia Lewis

In 2024, Patti LuPone faced accusations of bullying against a primarily Black Broadway production, Hell's Kitchen. The actress, who was acting in a play in the theatre next to the Shubert Theatre, reportedly called the ownership of the theatre to ask them to change their sound cues because they were “too loud,” according to People Magazine.

The news outlet noted that the actress evidently made similar comments to a fan, refusing to sign their playbill of Hell’s Kitchen because it was “too loud.”

These comments were addressed by Broadway actress Kecia Lewis, who played a prominent role in Hell’s Kitchen. In an open letter addressed to LuPone and released on Instagram, Lewis recounted the comments and, while accusing the actress, said:

"I wanted to address this because this, Ms. LuPone, these actions in my opinion are bullying. They’re offensive. They are racially microaggressive. They’re rude. They’re rooted in privilege and these actions also lack a sense of community and leadership for someone as yourself who has been in the business as long as you have.”

The letter also called out LuPone for sending flowers to the production as hypocritical.

While responding to Lewis’ comments during the recent interview with New Yorker, LuPone said:

“Oh, my God. Here’s the problem. She calls herself a veteran? Let’s find out how many Broadway shows Kecia Lewis has done, because she doesn’t know what the f**k she’s talking about…She’s done seven. I’ve done thirty-one. Don’t call yourself a vet, b***h.”

Patti LuPone goes head to head with Audra McDonald

Patti LuPone has made comments stoking rumors of a beef with fellow Broadway star, Audra McDonald, with whom she appeared together on stage in 2007. McDonald commented on Lewis’ post, criticizing LuPone’s actions with heart emojis.

During her conversation with New Yorker, LuPone responded to McDonald’s show of support to Lewis, and said:

“I thought, ‘You should know better.’ That’s typical of Audra. She’s not a friend.”

As per the magazine, the two Broadway stars had a falling out, which LuPone did not wish to speak about. She did have a sarcastic response when asked to comment on McDonald’s performance as Rose in Gypsy, a role which was earlier performed by LuPone herself. She chose to ignore the question and instead comment on the weather.