Broadway star Patti LuPone, a fervent critic of President Donald Trump, is advocating that the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, now under Trump’s stewardship, should be “blown up.”
In a profile of LuPone, 76, published by The New Yorker on Monday, author Michael Schulman wrote LuPone told him “more than once” that the center, considered the cultural hub of Washington, D.C., should be blown up. It is not known whether she was being literal or if the comment was made in another context. Newsmax reached out to The New Yorker and Schulman for comment.
“President Trump cares deeply about American arts and culture, which is why he is revitalizing historic institutions like the Kennedy Center to their former greatness,” White House deputy press secretary Anna Kelly told Newsmax.
Trump in February restructured the center’s board, made himself chair, and appointed envoy for special missions Richard Grenell as interim president. Several artists ended their associations with the center or canceled scheduled events.
Grenell told Newsmax in March that the center has been neglected, leading it toward an infrastructure that’s been “crumbling.” He added that Trump tasked him with making it “the premier arts institution in the United States. And there’s no reason why it can’t be.”
LuPone’s comment about the Kennedy Center was similar to one made by Madonna about the White House during a January 2017 women’s march following Trump’s victory over Hillary Clinton.
“Yes, I’m angry,” she said. “Yes, I am outraged. Yes, I have thought an awful lot about blowing up the White House. But I know this won’t change anything.”
Madonna reportedly responded to the backlash by posting on Instagram that her comments were a metaphor and taken out of context.
LuPone has never been shy about her dislike for Trump. On the red carpet at the 2017 Tony Awards, she was asked whether Trump should see her show “War Paint.” “Well, I hope he doesn’t because I won’t perform if he does … because I hate the mother[expletive],” she said. “How’s that?”
After Trump was hospitalized with COVID-19 in October 2020 and appeared on a White House balcony overlooking the South Lawn, LuPone reportedly posted on X that it was reminiscent of Eva Perón’s balcony scene in the musical “Evita,” a role she originated on Broadway in 1979.
“I still have the lung power, and I wore less makeup,” she wrote. “This revival is closing November 3rd.”
In an interview with Variety published in April, she lamented the lack of civil discourse in the U.S., indirectly criticizing what she perceived as Trump’s polarizing influence.
“What I don’t understand about all of this in this country is that we can’t seem to have a dialogue, a diverse dialogue or a dissenting views dialogue,” she said. “You’re labeled a communist. You’re labeled a fascist.”
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