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Hamilton star Brandon Victor Dixon visited CBS This Morning today to respond to the controversy that erupted over the weekend over the cast’s address to Mike Pence. Dixon says the cast has “nothing to apologize for” and he revealed that Lin-Manuel Miranda was very much involved with the creation of the now-infamous statement.
So let’s back up: I’m not sure if you’ve heard, but Vice President elect Mike Pence saw Hamilton on Friday night. The audience at the Richard Rogers theater simultaneously cheered and booed Pence’s arrival and the cast delivered a special message to Pence after the performance imploring him to consider all Americans while he’s in office. Donald Trump then went ballistic on twitter and demanded that the cast of Hamilton apologize to Pence, calling the incident harassment. Now many Trump supporters are calling for a boycott of the celebrated show. Coincidentally, Pence told Face the Nation yesterday that he was not offended by what happened.
Brandon Victor Dixon was the actor who spoke directly to Pence and he responded to the controversy today on CBS This Morning, saying that “conversation is not harassment and I was really appreciative that Vice President elect Mike Pence stood there and listened to what we had to say.”
Dixon revealed that Hamilton writer and composer Lin-Manuel Miranda, director Tommy Kail, and producer Jeffrey Sellers were the masterminds behind the statement. The cast worked together to finalize this address:
Dixon says that Pence chose not to visit the cast backstage. When asked why he was chosen to deliver the statement, Dixon said, “The producer Jeffrey Sellers called me about an a hour and a half before curtain and said, you know, this is something that we thought we wanted to do and asked me if I’d be willing to do it. I’m not sure why they decided to ask me, but I was happy to.”
When asked about Trump’s demand that the cast apologized, Dixon sipped his coffee and said with a smile, “There’s nothing to apologize for.” He also said he hoped Trump would attend a performance of Hamilton.
Dixon is currently playing Aaron Burr in the musical. He took over the role after Tony Award winner Leslie Odom, Jr. left this summer. Click here for more on Hamilton.
