Hillary Clinton Makes Appearance During Tony Awards Show
Hillary Clinton made a surprising appearance at the 2024 Tony Awards on Sunday night, drawing both admiration and mockery. Clinton, who was at the event to present a performance from the musical Suffs, received a standing ovation from the A-list crowd at the David H. Koch Theater in New York City.
Clinton, a producer of Suffs, began her introduction with a nod to her 2016 election loss, a topic she recently attributed to a lack of support from women voters. “I have stood on a lot of stages, but this is very special,” Clinton said. “I know a little bit about how hard it is to make change.” The crowd laughed at her reference to her electoral defeat.
Praising Suffs, Clinton continued, “I’m extremely proud of this original American musical by Shaina Taub — now a two-time Tony winner. And of course, it is about some American originals: the suffragists who fought so valiantly for so long to give women in our country the right to vote.”
Hillary Clinton Appears at the Tony Awards to Make Election Year Pitch, Earning Applause from Entitled Elites.
I loathe this woman. pic.twitter.com/33fzzvrvNZ
— I Meme Therefore I Am 🇺🇸 (@ImMeme0) June 17, 2024
Clinton then emphasized the importance of voting in the upcoming 2024 presidential election between Donald Trump and President Joe Biden. “It’s almost impossible to think about what a challenge that was, but now it’s an election year, and we need to be reminded about how important it is to vote, so please welcome the company of Suffs!”
Reactions to Clinton’s appearance were mixed. Some mocked the audience’s standing ovation, with Ryan Gidursky tweeting, “Democrats were like, ‘how do I do something more cringe than Robert DeNiro?’ Hillary Clinton: ‘hold my drink.'” Others criticized Clinton’s involvement with the Tony Awards, while some praised her fashion choice, noting her fabulous caftan.
Despite *Suffs* winning awards for Best Book of a Musical and Best Original Score, it lost the Best Musical category, which would have made Clinton a Tony winner. Clinton, however, has previously won an Emmy in 2023 and a Grammy in 1997.
The biggest winner of the night was Angelina Jolie, whose musical The Outsiders won four awards, including Best Musical. Jolie was joined on stage by her daughter Vivienne, 15, who proudly applauded as fellow producer Matthew Rego accepted the final award with an inspiring speech. The Outsiders also won for Best Direction of a Musical, Best Sound Design of a Musical, and Best Lighting Design of a Musical.
Other notable winners included Sarah Paulson, who won Best Actress in a Play for Appropriate; Daniel Radcliffe, who won Best Actor in a Featured Role in a Musical for Merrily We Roll Along; and Jeremy Strong, who won Best Actor in a Play for An Enemy of the People. This marked the first Tony win for each of these performers.