'Hamilton' Actor On Speech To Pence: 'There's Nothing To Apologize For'
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork/AP) -- If Donald Trump is waiting for an apology from the cast of "Hamilton,'' he will continue to wait.
Actor Brandon Victor Dixon, who plays Aaron Burr in the celebrated musical, told "CBS This Morning'' that "there's nothing to apologize for.'' Dixon gave Vice President-elect Mike Pence an onstage earful about equality at the end of Friday's performance.
"We wanted to stand up and spread a message of love, of unity," he said.
Dixon said that "Hamilton'' creator Lin-Manuel Miranda had a hand in crafting Dixon's remarks, although Dixon said he "made some adjustments.''
He said that both Trump and Pence are welcome to come back stage and meet with the cast at any time, adding, "Art is meant to bring people together.''
Trump tweeted Saturday that Pence had been "harassed" by the cast, called them "very rude" and demanded they apologize.
On Sunday, he repeated his order for an apology and added a dig at the critically acclaimed show, which is sold out until September.
"The cast and producers of Hamilton, which I hear is highly overrated, should immediately apologize to Mike Pence for their terrible behavior," he tweeted.
Pence told CBS' "Face The Nation" on Sunday that he "wasn't offended" by the cast expressing their views to him from the stage.
"I'll leave to others whether it was the appropriate venue to say it," he said. "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 Donald 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 of America."
Reaction to Dixon's speech was mixed, with some calling it "disrespectful" and threatening to boycott the show and others saying it was an important message that needed to be delivered.
The musical is by Miranda, who wrote the story, music and lyrics. It stresses the orphan, immigrant roots of first U.S. Treasury Secretary Alexander Hamilton.
Miranda, in a tweet, said he was "proud" of Dixon and the "Hamilton" cast "for leading with love," before reminding people that everyone is welcome at the theater.
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