The cast of Hamilton had a message for Mike Pence (video above). This message was delivered by Brandon Victor Dixon, who played Aaron Burr:
“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,” he said. “We truly hope that this show has inspired you to uphold our American values and to work on behalf of all of us.”
Donald Trump, never a big fan of dissent, tweeted that Pence was harassed, and then called for an apology:
The Theater must always be a safe and special place.The cast of Hamilton was very rude last night to a very good man, Mike Pence. Apologize!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 19, 2016
Dixon responded that “conversation is not harassment.”
@realDonaldTrump conversation is not harassment sir. And I appreciate @mike_pence for stopping to listen.
— Brandon Victor Dixon (@BrandonVDixon) November 19, 2016
Update: Regardless of what Mike Pence really believes and momentarily putting aside his record, Pence is much smarter than Donald Trump in handling the politics here:
Vice President-elect said Sunday he “wasn’t offended” after the cast of the Broadway hit “Hamilton” called for the Indiana governor to uphold the country’s values in a personal message after a show.
“I know this is a very disappointing time for people that did not see their candidate win in this national election. I know that this is a very anxious time for some people,” Pence said on “Fox News Sunday
And I just want to reassure people that what President-elect Donald Trump said on election night he absolutely meant from the bottom of his heart — he is preparing to be the president of all of the people of the United States of America.”
The Indiana governor said he’s confident the American people will see the president-elect be a president for all of the people.
We embrace that principle,” Pence said.
Hopefully we can hold Trump and Pence to this.
Presumably Mr. Brandon Victor Dixon obtained his role after taking part in a racial audition which white actors were not permitted to attend:
"The hottest show on Broadway has won praise for its groundbreaking casting of black and Latino performers, but now, “Hamilton” may have run afoul of the strict New York City Human Rights Law.
As CBS2’s Tony Aiello reported, the controversy was sparked by a casting notice posted by the producers of “Hamilton,” which specifically seeks “non-white” performers."
Humbuggery of the first order!
It is not really much of a controversy. One person made this claim which hasn’t received much attention outside of the right wing blogosphere. As the story reports, “The city Commission on Human Rights said it has not received a complaint about the ad, and would not say if it is investigating.” That was back in March, with no this claim not going any further.