President-elect Donald Trump tweeted that the cast of the Broadway musical “Hamilton” should apologize after they addressed Vice President-elect Mike Pence during his attendance at the show Friday night.
Trump called for the apology after a cast member gave a pointed statement about the concerns the cast had about Pence. Pence was met with boos and several cheers when he walked into the Richard Rodgers Theater.
Several theater-goers took videos of the chaotic scene as Pence walked into the theater. He waved a few times and then walked to his seat.
Here’s Pence getting booed as he gets to his seats at Hamilton pic.twitter.com/IRQG68x1sB
— David K (@dkipke12) November 19, 2016
Pence was reportedly booed throughout the show, especially when the subjects seemed to hit home.
I’m at #Hamilton and so is Mike Pence. Crowd booed him like crazy, and gave a standing O at the line “immigrants we get the job done” 1/2
— Christy Colburn (@christymoose) November 19, 2016
During “You’ll Be Back (Reprise)” they had to keep pausing the song while people jeered Pence on every line. https://t.co/ZSIG7qnfiM
— Shannon (@TheStagmania) November 19, 2016
Many were quick to note that the show hits heavily on the topic of immigration and that many of the actors are people of color and members of the LGBT community, including the actor in the title role, Javier Muñoz, an HIV-positive, Puerto Rican, out gay man.
After the show, the cast addressed Pence’s attendance with a statement read by Brandon Victor Dixon.
“Vice President Elect Pence, welcome,” he read. “Thank you for joining us at Hamilton-An American Musical. 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. We hope this show has inspired you to uphold our American values, and work on behalf of all of us.”
Tonight, VP-Elect Mike Pence attended #HamiltonBway. After the show, @BrandonVDixon delivered the following statement on behalf of the show. pic.twitter.com/Jsg9Q1pMZs
— Hamilton (@HamiltonMusical) November 19, 2016
President-elect Donald Trump took to Twitter to say that Pence was “harassed” at the show by the cast.
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 replied to Trump’s tweet, telling the President-elect that “conversation is not harassment.”
@realDonaldTrump conversation is not harassment sir. And I appreciate @mike_pence for stopping to listen.
— Brandon Victor Dixon (@BrandonVDixon) November 19, 2016
The statement was written by some of the show’s creative team when they learned Pence would attend, according to New York Times reporter Patrick Healy. It’s unclear is Pence heard the statement, as Dixon noted Pence was walking out before he spoke.
