Delta Airlines and Bank of America have cancelled their sponsorship over The Public's 'Julius Caesar' production, but The Public remains committed to the show.
- Jun 13, 2017
AceShowbiz - Despite receiving backlashes due to its "Julius Caesar" production, which presented the assassination of Donald Trump-like Roman dictator, The Public Theater decides to remain committed to the show. The Public's Free Shakespeare in the Park production of "Julius Caesar" opened on Monday, June 12 to a standing ovation from the crowd.
The Public's artistic director Oskar Eustis opened the evening by saying, "Anybody who watches this play tonight-and I'm sorry there's going to be a couple of spoiler alerts here-will know that neither Shakespeare nor the Public Theater could possibly advocate violence as a solution to political problems, and certainly not assassination."
The Public Theater has been slammed due to its depiction of Roman dictator Julius Caesar, who was styled with blond hair, a business blue suit and a long tie resembling those of POTUS Trump. Caesar was also shown having a Melania Trump-like Slavic wife. The explicit and graphic production saw the dictator being stabbed to death, which sparked criticism as it was considered an offense to the POTUS.
Following the controversy, Delta Airlines and Bank of America decided to cancel their sponsorship. "No matter what your political stance may be, the graphic staging of 'Julius Caesar' at this summer's free Shakespeare in the Park does not reflect Delta Air Lines' values," Delta said in a statement.
Bank of America spokeswoman Susan Atran said that while they wouldn't end their financial relationship with the theater, it would withdraw its sponsorship over "Julius Caesar". "The Public Theater chose to present 'Julius Caesar' in a way that was intended to provoke and offend. Had this intention been made known to us, we would have decided not to sponsor it. We are withdrawing our funding for this production," she said.
Trump's son Donald Trump Jr. has also made a response to the controversy via his Twitter account. "I wonder how much of this 'art' is funded by taxpayers? Serious question, when does 'art' become political speech & does that change things?" he wrote.
I wonder how much of this "art" is funded by taxpayers? Serious question, when does "art" become political speech & does that change things? https://t.co/JfOmLLBJCn
— Donald Trump Jr. (@DonaldJTrumpJr) June 11, 2017
However, several people defended the show by suggesting that that's how art supposed to be. Former Broadway producer Rocco Landesman said, "Satirical drama has been around since Aristophanes, and sometimes people get upset by it. But these are such fraught and emotional times that everyone's overreacting."
Bill Raunch, the artistic director of the Oregon Shakespeare Festival, said, "It's an odd reading to say that it incites violence, because the meat of the tragedy of the play is the tragic repercussions of the assassination."
The Public Theater's "Julius Caesar" will close as scheduled on June 18. The next Free Shakespeare in the Park's production will be "A Midsummer Night's Dream".
