Patti LuPone wants "Trumpified Kennedy Center" to "get blown up", New Yorker writer Michael Schulman claims

Actress and singer Patti LuPone made some interesting claims in an interview with The New Yorker’s Michael Schulman on May 26, 2025. Her statement concerns the John F. Kennedy Center, for which President Donald Trump previously announced a major overhaul.

Speaking about the singer, Schulman wrote,

“She told me, more than once, that the Trumpified Kennedy Center “should get blown up.” In the S.U.V., apropos the current Administration, she pronounced, ‘Leave. New York. Alone. Make it its own country. I mean, is there any other city in America that’s as diverse, as in-your-face? It’s a live-or-die city, it really is. Stick it out or leave.’”

According to Fox News, diplomat and the Kennedy Center’s President, Richard Grenell, criticised Patti LuPone’s statement, saying,

“The far left has morphed into violent extremists. This is completely unacceptable – from the same people who claim to be for tolerance and diversity. Everyone should condemn these radicals.”

In 2020, the singer expressed concern about the future of the country to Variety, saying she believed the situation was headed in a dark direction, possibly toward fascism or dictatorship.

She feared Donald Trump would be elected again and shared that if that happened, she might move to Ireland. At 71, she felt her time was limited and wanted to spend it appreciating the beauty of nature and finding peace.

Patti LuPone on her friendship with Audra McDonald

Elsewhere in the interview with The New Yorker, Michael Schulman brought up Audra McDonald. Patti LuPone criticized her, saying that they were no longer friends.

LuPone mentioned they had fallen out years ago but didn’t want to go into detail. When asked about her opinion on McDonald’s current performance in Gypsy, LuPone remained silent for a while, then shifted the conversation by commenting on the weather instead.

Earlier in the interview, reflecting on life, she said,

“I was dealt the hard hand, in everything. This life is about figuring that out. The next life is going to be easier. We start in life vulnerable. Then we are accosted. And then we put up the barriers. We put up the armor. I’ve never lost my vulnerability, so the shock continues. I firmly believe this: it’s better to fail, because you learn so much more.”

She went on,

“If you are anointed, you have nowhere to go. Failure makes you investigate. Failure moves you to the next step.”

In 2017, the singer was asked by a reporter at the Tony Awards red carpet why President Trump should watch her show. She responded, saying she wouldn’t perform if he attended her show. When asked about the reason, she said she hated him.

The clip resurfaced during the 2024 presidential elections. Reflecting on that moment during a conversation with the hosts of The View last year, Patti LuPone explained that she got upset because she felt the question asked on the Tony Awards red carpet was foolish and inappropriate for the occasion. She believed it didn’t belong in that setting.

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

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