Oprah Winfrey stirred the room at the 2025 Tony Awards with a pointed remark that many interpreted as a subtle jab at Broadway legend Patti LuPone, following weeks of public tension involving LuPone and fellow stage veterans Kecia Lewis and Audra McDonald.
While presenting the award for Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Musical, Oprah praised the theater community, saying, “Our celebration of this astounding year in live theater turns to the women whose work sparked lively conversations among theater fans.” She then paused and added with a sly expression, “Lotta talking going on!” The comment drew laughter from the audience and was widely seen as a veiled reference to the recent offstage drama that has gripped the Broadway world.
Audra McDonald, one of the actresses at the center of the controversy, was in attendance as a nominee in the very category Oprah was presenting. McDonald ultimately lost to Nicole Scherzinger for her performance in Sunset Boulevard. Patti LuPone, however, was noticeably absent.
The backdrop to Oprah’s remark is LuPone’s widely discussed profile in The New Yorker, where she was quoted calling Lewis a “bitch” and claiming she “doesn’t know what the f*** she’s talking about.” The outburst was in response to Lewis criticizing LuPone’s earlier complaints about noisy music rehearsals, which Lewis described as “micro aggressive.”
The fallout was swift. More than 500 members of the Broadway community signed an open letter condemning LuPone’s comments, prompting the actress to issue a public apology.
While Oprah never named names, her quip added a new chapter to the ongoing saga, showcasing how real-life drama continues to spill beyond the stage and into the industry’s most prestigious nights.
