The Hamilton actor who delivered a post-performance address to Mike Pence urging him to ‘work for all Americans’ has revealed he faced death threats following his speech.
Brandon Victor Dixon, 36, delivered the speech on behalf of the Hamilton cast to the then newly elected Vice President, 59, when he attended the Broadway show in November 2016.
Video of the actor’s speech went viral but also prompted people to send hate mail to the political activist.
‘I mean, everybody around me was legitimately very, very worried. I did receive hundreds and hundreds of death threats,’ Dixon said on The Michelle Collins Show on SiriusXM on Monday.
Brandon Victor Dixon, 36, (left) says he’s faced hundreds of death threats since delivering his speech to Mike Pence, 59, (right) following a Hamilton performance
Dixon, who plays Aaron Burr in the Broadway show, pictured center delivering his speech to Pence urging the administration to ‘work on behalf of all of us’
Pence, pictured leaving the Hamilton performance in New York on November 18, 2016, listened to the message that later sparked controversy online
Reflecting on the powerful speech he said the cast decided as a group to deliver a special message to the Vice President-elect.
‘The creatives got together and said, “you know… we kind of feel like we should take a moment to say something just because of the, where things are right now.” And because of the kind of stage Hamilton does possess,’ he said on the radio show.
He added the show halted the curtain call during the show after they noticed Pence getting up to leave the performance early.
‘He started to get up as we were about to start the curtain call and then I just, I just, I stopped the curtain call so we could talk to him because he was walking out,’ Dixon said.
‘He got up to leave kind of before the show was just over… we stopped in the middle and just because we wanted to make sure he heard it before he left,’ Dixon added.
In his speech Dixon said: ‘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.’
‘We truly hope that this show has inspired you to uphold our American values and to work on behalf of all of us,’ he added as the theater cheered in applause.
Several in the crowd even boo-ed Pence as he left the building.
Dixon revealed he received ‘hundreds and hundreds’ of death threats following the speech on The Michelle Collins show, pictured with the host above
On set! Dixon, dressed as Aaron Burr backstage, said despite receiving negative messages he ‘was cool’ and didn’t take it to heart
Despite the negative aftershock of Dixon’s message he said he ‘was cool’ about the death threats that shot his way, joking that he didn’t trust the menacing messages rampant with punctuation mistakes.
‘I mean if you go and use proper punctuation to threaten to kill somebody…’ he said jokingly.
His speech sparked outrage, particularly with President Trump, who took to Twitter following the performance to reprimand Dixon.
‘Our wonderful future V.P. Mike Pence was harassed last night at the theater by the cast of Hamilton, cameras blazing. This should not happen!’ Trump tweeted.
‘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!’ he added.
Following a flurry of media attention, Dixon defended his actions on CBS This Morning saying: ‘We have nothing to apologize for.’
‘Conversation is not harassment. I was really appreciative that Vice President-elect Pence stood there and listened to what we had to say. I know some people have said that a one-sided conversation or a lecture is not a conversation but it was the beginnings of a conversation I hope that we can continue to have,’ he added.