Broadway Star Lea Salonga Calls Out Fans Who Snuck Backstage for Photos: 'I Will Protect My Territory'

“I have boundaries. Do not cross them,” wrote ‘Here Lies Love’ actress Lea Salonga on Twitter

Actress Lea Salonga, who is starring in the Broadway musical Here Lies Love, is making boundaries clear when it comes to backstage etiquette.

The Tony-winning performer, 52, has responded to a video taken after a recent performance at the Broadway Theatre that shows her attempting to dismiss a group of fans who had allegedly snuck into her dressing room unannounced.

In the video, Salonga can be seen addressing the person filming: "Who are you? I'm so sorry, I don't know who you are… Unless you're on the guest list we cannot have you back here.”

“You’ll have to go to the door,” she continued. “Because if I allow this now, then other people are going to take advantage of this.” After they made pleas for “a quick photo,” she agreed, escorting the group into the hallway outside the dressing room on her way out.

On Sunday, after the uploaded video had gone viral on social media, the Manila, Philippines-born actress tweeted several clarifications about the incident. “Just a reminder,” she wrote, “I have boundaries. Do not cross them. Thank you.”

In another tweet, Salonga refuted the claim made by a member of the trespassing group that they knew Here Lies Love cultural and community liaison Giselle “G” Töngi. “The person whose name they were naming as their producer friend has no idea who they are,” wrote the actress, who provided the singing voice for the title character in Disney's Mulan. “I was giving the benefit of the doubt until the moment I heard back from her.”

Another member of the Broadway production, she added, allegedly told Salonga they would have “cussed at” the offending fans. She tweeted, “I’m not the type to cuss people out, but I will protect my territory and my boundaries. If I lose fans as a result, so be it.”

A Laurence Olivier and Tony Award winner for 1991’s Miss Saigon, Salonga now stars as Aurora Aquino, mother of Filipino politician Ninoy Aquino, in Here Lies Love, an original musical written by David Byrne and Fatboy Slim that first ran Off-Broadway starting in 2013. It tells the story of First Lady of the Philippines Imelda Marcos. The 2023 production heralds the first all-Filipino cast on Broadway.

Salonga’s comments on Twitter have ignited a debate about etiquette between artists and their fans. “The money you pay for a theater/concert ticket does not mean all-access,” she tweeted. “You pay for that performer’s art, and that’s where it stops. I gotta say, the folks at the stage door have been so incredibly kind, which only makes us (well, me) enthusiastic to say hello and spend the time to talk to them.”

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