The culture wars have officially exploded.
Vice President-elect Mike Pence was booed by a theater audience when he attended the hit hip-hop musical Hamilton in New York City on Friday night—and then was addressed from the stage after the curtain fell.
We are not sure what the Indiana governor, who has been a virulent opposer of gay rights, thought would happen when he went to Broadway of all places, but it wasn’t pretty.
The Guardian reports that on Friday night, as Pence entered the auditorium at the Richard Rogers Theater, he walked down the aisle toward his seat and waved briefly as people in the theater clearly began to realize who he was. There were some cheers, but then the boos began.
The Guardian reports that the show was interrupted several times with boos. After the show, Pence was called back and addressed by Brandon Dixon, who plays Vice President Aaron Burr.
Dixon began by thanking the audience for seeing the show, then said, “Vice President Mike Pence, I see you walking out, but I hope you will hear us, just a few moments.
“Mike Pence, we welcome you here. We are the diverse Americans who are alarmed and anxious that your new administration will not protect us, our planet, our children, our parents,” he continued. “Or defend us and uphold our inalienable rights. … [W]e truly hope that this show has inspired you to uphold our American values and work on behalf of all of us,” he continued, to rising cheers.
“We thank you for sharing this wonderful American story, told by a diverse group of men and women of different colors, creeds and orientations,” he concluded.
Of course, President-elect Donald Trump weighed in on this truly consequential matter via Twitter on Saturday morning, demanding that the multicultural cast apologize to the incoming veep.
And, in its usual hilarity, Twitter had its own reaction Saturday morning with the trending hashtag #NameaMikePenceMusical.
But then, in typical backlash fashion, the #BoycottHamilton hashtag began trending as well. Perhaps if that's the case, we can now get tickets.
God bless America.
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