Patti Lupone Viral on Twitter: Broadway Star Shamed for Defending THIS Rule

Broadway star Patti LuPone has a long history of calling out theatergoers who fail to follow appropriate theater etiquette, and she resumed this trend on Tuesday during a performance of "Company" on Broadway.

While harsh, it seems very timely and appropriate. Plus, it is apparent that her love and concern are in the right place. 

The conversation occurred after the performance, when LuPone - who plays Joanne in the musical - and the rest of her ensemble participated in a post-performance Q&A sponsored and filmed by the American Theater Wing.

During the Q&A, LuPone called out a member of the audience who was improperly wearing a mask. Until at least May 31, 2019, the Broadway League's COVID safety rules require all audience members to wear a mask inside venues. 

"Put your mask on over your nose, that is the rule," LuPone says in a viral Twitter video. "That's why you are in the theater, that is the rule. If you don't want to follow the rule, get the fuck out!

LuPone proceeded after the remainder of the audience applauded. 

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"I'm serious. Who do you think you are, if you do not respect the people that are sitting around you?," she added. 

But not all in the audience agreed, and one even LOUDLY defended the mask-rule offender, by making an offhand comment. A woman said that she pays LuPone her salary, something the performer cannot just accept sitting down. 

"You pay my salary? Bullshit. Chris Harper pays my salary," referring to the producer of "Company." "Who do you think you are? Just put your mask over your nose," LuPone said angrily.

The whole exchange was captured in the video below. 

This is not the first time LuPone has criticized theatergoers who have attended her performances. In 2009, while acting in a production of the classic musical "Gypsy," she halted her performance of the song "Rose's Turn" to demand that a member of the audience who was snapping photographs be ejected from the theater.

In 2015, she made headlines for seizing a phone from an audience member who was texting during a performance of "Show Days" at Lincoln Center. It's not that surprising for her to be this outright now too, since COVID-19 is a serious matter.

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