A Manhattan-based theater company (The Public Theater) that used an actor made up to appear as a doomed Pres. Donald Trump being knifed on stage followed Kathy Griffin over the line separating depictions of comedy from violence. Now the company has been crossed out by some important sponsors for its actions. Delta Airlines and Bank of America published a letter Sunday stating that the corporations will no longer sponsor the acting company after it used the Trump actor attired in a business suit to portray Julius Caesar, who has a knife plunged into his heart during the play.
Comedian Kathy Griffin also dumped by sponsors
Similarly, former comedian Kathy Griffin lost most if not all of her sponsors after appearing in a photo with a seemingly ISIS-inspired image of Trump’s bloodied severed head she held in her hand. For its part, Delta publicly stated that the graphic staging of Trump’s death as Julius Caesar did not reflect the company’s values and pulled its sponsorship effective immediately. Bank of America, a national brand, said that The Public Theater’s production was done in such a way as to provoke and offend, and noted that it would never have sponsored the play had they known.
Artistic director defends Trump depiction
Oskar Eustis, The Public Theater's artistic director claims that watching a likeness of Trump having a knife plunged into his torso until dead in no way advocates violence towards anyone.
Comedian Kathy Griffin recently learned the hard way that depicting the death of a U.S. president isn’t funny and is a not a sponsor magnet for actors or comedians. Griffin was publicly condemned for her actions with the exception of a couple of Hollywood stars who defended her portrayal. As of press time, The Public Theater was not taking calls regarding their loss of sponsorship or the play.
President gets involved
The president himself got involved with The Public Theater’s grotesque depiction of him by tweeting a news story about the play and questioning how much of it was funded by taxpayers. The President suggested that when art becomes bitterly partisan political speech, that should affect government funding for such projects.
Long before he was elected, Democratic Party leaders devolved into rants against Trump that border on indecency.
Virginia Democratic Lt. Gov. Ralph Northam ran ads calling Trump a “narcissistic maniac” and promised not to let him “bring his hate into Virginia.” It is not clear how Northam would stop a sitting U.S. President from entering the state of Virginia, however, it is the kind of language that political pundits say could further decimate the Democratic Party. In November the Democratic Party suffered massive losses across the board in state and local houses while Republicans maintained control of Congress and took the White House.