Some of you may have heard, but on Friday night, November 18, Mike Pence went to see Hamilton the musical and was lectured by the cast after the show was over.
Actor Brandon Victor Dixon, who plays Aaron Burr, thanked the crowd for coming and then asked the Vice President-elect to stay behind and listen to what he and the cast had to say.
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Dixon then said, “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. 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 responded with cheers and applause.
There was, however, backlash against Dixon and the cast's speech towards Pence online after the incident. Many people are actually trying to boycott Hamilton (ha, good luck with that), expressing outrage that they were being "rude," "ignorant," and "biased." There have been demands for the cast to apologize to Pence for their supposedly classless and rude words.
While Pence made no comment, Trump had a few things to say. The President-elect took to Twitter - surprise, surprise - and decried the Hamilton cast's speech, arguing that Pence was harassed and that they should apologize immediately. He also expressed his belief that the theater ought to be a safe and special place, to which many responded with incredulous outrage.
Personally, I think Dixon and the rest of the cast were great. The Hamilton cast has always been noted for their diversity, being played by minority race actors. They do have a vested interest in current American politics, given how Trump has hardly been a friend of minority races. Just because they're actors doesn't mean they must keep silent on touchy political issues: they may be entertainers, but they are also people with lives that will be affected by the upcoming change in leadership. The outrage in response to their speech is ridiculous; they weren't even being disrespectful. The speech was polite, but conveyed the cast's anxiousness and expressed their hope that both Pence and Trump will not create a government further ruled by bigotry, racism, and sexism.
And, for those of you boycotting Hamilton - I certainly don't mind taking those tickets from you, if you have them.
