Donald Trump has called for a boycott of the sold out play "Hamilton" after the cast delivered a serious message to Vice President-elect Mike Pence during the curtail call at one of their shows Friday. Trump also stated that the cast owes Pence an official apology after their "offensive" stunt, but it turns out they might not need to give him one. Pence released a statement following the incident, in which he said that he wasn't bothered by the cast.
"I wasn't offended by what was said," Pence said in his first comment on the situation to Fox News Sunday. "I'll leave it to others whether it was the appropriate venue to say it. But I want to assure people who were disappointed in the election results, people who are feeling anxious about this time in the life of our nation, that President-elect Trump meant exactly what he said on election night, that he is going to be the president of all the people of the United States."
Pence also noted why he was excited to stand by Trump during his presidency. "He's got a heart for the American people and I just want to reassure anyone, anyone including the actors we heard that night that president-elect trump is going to be president of all the people," he said. "I couldn't be more honored to stand with him."
Meanwhile, Trump has been avid on Twitter about separating politics from the arts, saying that the "theater must always be a safe and special place" and that the cast violated that. He also suggested that the play, which is currently sold out until August 2017, is "highly overrated."
Actor Brandon Victor Dixon, who originally delivered the speech at curtain call, quickly responded to Trump's rant on Twitter, saying that it was not harassment and that he appreciated Pence staying around to listen, despite the crowd's booing.
Additionally, Alec Baldwin chimed into the Twitter discussion, blasting Trump for his comments about theater and the arts. "Theatre safe? Or free from opinions u don't like? That's never happening," Alec tweeted on Saturday. "In that regard, the theatre, a lg piece of the culture, is about 2 bcome very uncomfortable 4 U." He followed his harsh criticism with some advice to the president-elect about what he should be focusing on instead of censoring the theater department. "You know what I would do if I were Prez? I'd be focused on how to improve the lives of AS MANY AMERICANS AS POSSIBLE."
