Audra McDonald Shares Chilling Encounter With Aggressive Autograph Seeker

Broadway icon Audra McDonald is speaking out after a terrifying run-in with an autograph seeker who crossed serious boundaries and left her shaken.

The six-time Tony Award winner took to Instagram over the weekend to detail the disturbing incident, which happened Friday night as she wrapped up her latest turn in Gypsy at the Majestic Theatre.

Audra McDonald explained she’s been avoiding the stage door during this run, a common place where fans wait for signatures, in order to protect her health and conserve her energy. But one determined fan wasn’t willing to take no for an answer.

“Someone … snuck around and found me the way I had exited from the theater … and followed me all the way to where I was staying, came into the building, and was uncomfortably close,” McDonald revealed. The stage legend admitted the situation rattled her so much that she feared for her safety before finally getting security involved.

When confronted, the autograph seeker allegedly tried to justify their behavior by saying they had traveled a long way just to see her perform, and therefore “deserved” her signature. McDonald wasn’t having it.

“That’s crossing a big boundary … that’s now messing with my safety, and it’s not right,” she said.

The two-time Grammy winner called out the entitled behavior and issued a firm PSA to fans. Respect performers’ space.

“When you see an actor leave the stage door, if they don’t stop, leave it alone. There is a reason that they’re not stopping, and it has nothing to do with you,” she told her 295,000 followers. “It’s them protecting their space and peace, whatever that may be.”

Still, McDonald made clear that she appreciates her fans deeply, but safety comes first. “If the performers do stop, a wave, or take a picture with you or sign an autograph, great, but please respect the proper boundaries.”

McDonald’s post also sparked a wave of support from friends and fellow performers who understood exactly what she was going through. Tony Award-winning actress and singer Kecia Lewis chimed in with a powerful message, reminding fans just how much energy Broadway stars give night after night.

“As I walked past your theater last night I ran into a college girlfriend who had just seen your show. As we were standing and chatting two gentlemen asked my friend and I if you had come out. I told them that you probably wouldn’t for a couple of the reasons you’ve stated here. They were disappointed, but expressed their understanding,” Lewis shared.

She continued with a sharp rebuke for entitled fans, “I hope people watch it and understand that after 2.5 hours of stage time, and an hour or more of prep before performing, and giving 200% of your whole body, soul and spirit to an audience, to then feel that you DESERVE more, is the devil’s work.”

Actress Yvette Nicole Brown also weighed in with concern, writing, “I now want you to have a security person with you at all times because this is CRAZY.”

While McDonald has been candid about the challenges of fame and fan interactions, she continues to thrive onstage, recently earning her record-breaking 11th Tony Award nomination for her portrayal of Mama Rose in the Broadway revival of "Gypsy."

The six-time Tony winner, who already shares the record for most wins ever with legends Angela Lansbury and Julie Harris, said stepping into the role of Rose has been one of the most emotionally demanding experiences of her career.

“I had big feelings. I had music in my heart. And so once I found theater, it was like I have a place to put my big feelings now,” McDonald told "CBS Mornings."

She first tested the role at Carnegie Hall in 2022, performing the show’s powerhouse number “Rose’s Turn.” At the time, she was preparing to send her daughter off to college, a moment that brought her own emotions to the surface.

“I burst into tears and I realized it’s because my baby’s leaving and I’m sad. So then that was my first sort, like, emotional dive into Rose,” she recalled.

McDonald is also breaking barriers as the first Black woman to portray Mama Rose on Broadway.  Guided by director George C. Wolfe, she leaned into Rose’s obsession with her children becoming stars, not just as ambition, but as survival in a dangerous era.

“You got star money, maybe you won’t be lynched,” McDonald explained of her character’s mindset in the 1920s and 30s. Behind the curtain, McDonald’s discipline and craft shine just as much. She joked about being “of a certain age” alongside co-star Danny Burstein, admitting they no longer sprint upstairs after shows.

Instead, she carefully warms up with vocal exercises, including humming, to keep her voice strong for the grueling eight-show-a-week schedule.

For McDonald, it’s not just another role. It’s another chance to push boundaries, explore new emotional depths, and reaffirm why she remains one of Broadway’s greatest living legends.