‘Hamilton’ Cast Calls Out Mike Pence; Trump Demands Apology
Vice President-elect Mike Pence took some time off of his duties to check out the hottest stage production in the country, Hamilton. But things clearly didn’t go as he planned.
Once the cast of the diverse retelling of Alexander Hamilton’s life found out that Pence would be in Richard Rodgers Theatre in New York on Nov. 18, they had something in store for the man who’s built a reputation on being incredibly homophobic and generally harmful to other minority groups.
As the play ended, actor Brandon Victor Dixon, who portrays Vice President Aaron Burr, joined the rest of the cast on stage and took a moment to deliver a particular message to Pence, according to the New York Times.
“We, sir — we — are the diverse America who are alarmed and anxious that your new administration will not protect us, our planet, our children, our parents, or defend us and uphold our inalienable rights,” he said. “We truly hope that this show has inspired you to uphold our American values and to work on behalf of all of us.”
The audience, who booed Pence as he walked to his seat before the show, erupted into applause at the bring moment of shared humanity. However, Pence was already leaving his seat when Dixon began reading his statement. Luckily, a spokesperson says that Pence was standing in the hallway to hear the entirety of the speech.
While Pence had no comment about the interaction, President-elect Donald Trump went to his Twitter account to demand an apology.
Our wonderful future V.P. Mike Pence was harassed last night at the theater by the cast of Hamilton, cameras blazing.This should not happen!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 19, 2016
The Theater must always be a safe and special place.The cast of Hamilton was very rude last night to a very good man, Mike Pence. Apologize!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 19, 2016
Dixon was quick to post a response of his own.
conversation is not harassment sir. And I appreciate @mike_pence for stopping to listen.
— Brandon Victor Dixon (@BrandonVDixon) November 19, 2016
Perhaps someone forgot to tell Trump that safe spaces are apparently a bad thing – at least to many conservatives who feel that they discourage free speech.
Photo Credit: YouTube
(Video via Twitter/Hamilton via Storyful)