‘Hamilton’ Actor Who Addressed Mike Pence After Performance Defends Actions on ‘The View’
Brandon Victor Dixon, the Hamilton actor who addressed Vice President-elect Mike Pence after the show Friday night, joined The View on Monday to talk about the message he delivered to Pence and the reaction it has gotten nationwide. Pence, who does not have a good track record with the LGBTQ community as governor of Indiana, was reportedly leaving the theater when Dixon began speaking directly to him, but he stopped to listen to the entire message.
“Vice President-elect Pence, we welcome you and we truly thank you for joining us here at ‘Hamilton,’ an American musical. We really do. We, sir, we are the diverse America who are alarmed and anxious that your new administration will not protect us,” Dixon’s message began.
Dixon went on to say that he hopes Pence will work for all Americans and uphold everyone’s inalienable rights. Though the address was short and respectful, some, such as President-elect Donald Trump, saw it as an attack and sent out tweets chastising the Hamilton cast members and saying they had harassed Pence.
Dixon fired back a tweet of his own, saying, “@realDonaldTrump conversation is not harassment sir. And I appreciate @mike_pence for stopping to listen.”
In an interview on Sunday, Pence said that he wasn’t offended and that it was a joy to be at the play. He also stated that the cast was incredibly talented. Dixon said he was appreciative of Pence’s response throughout the situation.
“It was important for us to take the stage and to let our message be heard. I’m glad we did, and I’m very grateful to Vice President-elect Mike Pence for staying there and listening to what we had to say. I’m also grateful for his words yesterday, his response to it. It’s encouraging,” Dixon said.
Pence did, however, question the timing of the address, and he’s not alone in that line of thinking.
Dixon had a fairly obvious message for Pence and anyone else who feels the same: “If people are coming to see to Hamilton to leave their politics behind, you came to the wrong show,” he said.
Music and politics ruled the night at the ‘American Music Awards’:
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