Lillias White Calling Out Deaf Audience Member For Using CC Device- Page 4

[soulmistin]

Posted: 10/13/22 at 11:32pm

I’m beyond disgusted at messages I am seeing in this thread. The woman involved is a close friend of mine and I cannot believe how this is being wrongly portrayed in SO many ways. 
 

She did not want this, ANY of this. She went to the show last night with the highest of hopes and left absolutely devastated. She originally posted the video on Instagram to talk to her friends about this, and didn’t know it would have this reception. Her tweets alone about it have been viewed four million times according to twitter impressions, all of this happening throughout her workday with limited internet, so she didn’t immediately see the need to answer to endless people demanding the whole story from her. But since people can’t seem to get their facts straight, this is the story. I was physically present as well, though not with her.

• She went to Hadestown and requested a captioning device that is provided by the show. The house was aware of this. It is not an app, it’s a tablet device and looks like one. 
• During the opening number during applause breaks Lilias said to her something along the lines of “stop recording” and “no recording” while her mic was off. The show wasn’t stopped and the majority of the audience did not hear. She was told it was yelling and believed it because she is deaf and literally could not hear it. 

She left the show incredibly upset and was initially posting on her private Instagram, and decided to make it public, where it took off beyond her comprehension. She has no malice for the show or Lilias. She knows it was a mistake based off lack of education. She did not wish for hate to be spread, and she absolutely did not want this to escalate to the point it did. She has turned down many, MANY news interviews and potentially profitable opportunities she was offered because she does not want to see Lilias and the production suffer. She’s instead choosing to handle it directly with the involved parties. 
 

Any other untrue “details” which have arisen are from third parties who have made assumptions, not her. She told her story truthfully and diplomatically from the start and I cannot be more proud of her. I’m happy to answer answer anything needing clarification. But I cannot stand to watch her, a victim in this situation, be criticized for not knowing the perfect method of handling a situation that shouldn’t have happened in the first place. 

 

[pmensky]

Posted: 10/13/22 at 11:40pm

PipingHotPiccolo said: "It wasnt mid-show. It wasnt multiple times. And she wasnt yelled at.

The former implies the show was stopped/interrupted. Multiple times = repeated admonishing. Yelling means verbal reprimand. As SHE HERSELF clarified: "The show was not disrupted or interrupted. If I had been recording, I’d say she handled it quickly and concisely. I was not publicly shamed."

She exaggerated, got an enormous online reaction, and then backtracked."

So, if she had said she was “reprimanded” “during” the show rather than “yelled” at “mid-show”, you wouldn’t be calling her a liar and trying to discount her experience and character? As I said,  mid-show could mean at any point during the show. It’s like saying you got a phone call in the middle of your dinner. That doesn’t necessarily mean you were interrupted right between the second and third course of a four course meal. It’s just another way of saying, “during.” Also, she’s hard of hearing, so if Lilias was mouthing words to her to try to get her to stop “recording”, she may have felt like she was being yelled at. She also said people were coming up to talk to her about it at intermission, so White’s behavior was conspicuous enough to get other people’s attention. Also, she never claimed the show was stopped or interrupted. I don’t know how you’re incapable of not understanding the turn of phrase, mid-show, yet you somehow claim she suggested the show was stopped when she suggested no such thing. People like you were on Twitter claiming the show was stopped, and she stated it wasn’t true. That’s the only reason why she said it.

[Jordan Catalano]

Posted: 10/13/22 at 11:41pm

“She was told it was yelling and believed it because she is deaf and literally could not hear it.”

 

Just reposting this sentence to make damn sure people see it. 

[PipingHotPiccolo]

Posted: 10/13/22 at 11:44pm

I'm sure shes lovely. I don't think for one second she posted anything for attention or meant to cause the show harm--- she didnt even mention the show/star in the initial tweet.

But she wrote that she was YELLED AT, MID-SHOW, MULTIPLE TIMES. That just wasn't true- and if she was told that by someone else, and therefore was misled, thats on the other person then, sure. I'm much more bothered by how many people HERE and on Twitter saw her clarification, saw her walk back the original claim, but have carried on with these ridiculous accusations. 

[pmensky]

Posted: 10/13/22 at 11:45pm

soulmistin said: "I’m beyond disgusted at messages I am seeing in this thread. The woman involved is a close friend of mine and I cannot believe how this is being wrongly portrayed in SO many ways.


She did not want this, ANY of this. She went to the show last night with the highest of hopes and left absolutely devastated. She originally posted the video on Instagram to talk to her friends about this, and didn’t know it would have this reception. Her tweets alone about it have been viewedfour million timesaccording to twitter impressions, all of this happening throughout her workday with limited internet, so she didn’t immediately see the need to answer to endless people demanding the whole story from her. But since people can’t seem to get their facts straight, this is the story. I was physically present as well, though not with her.

• She went to Hadestown and requested a captioning device that is provided by the show. The house was aware of this. It is not an app, it’s a tablet device and looks like one.
• During the opening number during applause breaks Lilias said to her something along the lines of “stop recording” and “no recording” while her mic was off. The show wasn’t stopped and the majority of the audience did not hear. She was told it was yelling and believed itbecause she is deaf and literally could not hear it.

 

 

She left the show incredibly upset and was initially posting on her private Instagram, and decided to make it public, where it took off beyond her comprehension. She has no malice for the show or Lilias. She knows it was a mistake based off lack of education. She did not wish for hate to be spread, and she absolutely did not want this to escalate to the point it did. She has turned down many, MANY news interviews and potentially profitable opportunities she was offered because she does not want to see Lilias and the production suffer. She’s instead choosing to handle it directly with the involved parties.


Any other untrue “details” which have arisen are from third parties who have made assumptions, not her. She told her story truthfully and diplomatically from the start and I cannot be more proud of her. I’m happy to answer answer anything needing clarification. But I cannot stand to watch her, a victim in this situation, be criticized for not knowing the perfect method of handling a situation that shouldn’t have happened in the first place."

 

 

Thank you! I was writing while you were posting, and it turns out I was pretty much on the mark with my assumptions about the yelling and the third parties making up nonsense like so many in this thread. She is the victim here, and anyone who suggests otherwise has a broken moral compass.

[soulmistin]

Posted: 10/13/22 at 11:48pm

PipingHotPiccolo said: "I'm sure shes lovely. I don't think for one second she posted anything for attention or meant to cause the show harm--- she didnt even mention the show/star in the initial tweet.

But she wrote that she was YELLED AT, MID-SHOW, MULTIPLE TIMES. That just wasn't true- and if she was told that by someone else, and therefore was misled, thats on the other person then, sure. I'm much more bothered by how many people HERE and on Twitter saw her clarification, saw her walk back the original claim, but have carried on with these ridiculous accusations."

“yelled at” is subjective, and like I said, she is almost entirely deaf and physically unable to discern how loud of may have been. To her, and other hearing individuals, it was perceived as yelling. And it was mid show. During the opening number is during the show. She isn’t backpedaling, she strongly feels what she said was true and I don’t disagree. If she knew four million people would see it maybe she would have given more detail from the start, but what regular person assumes four million people will look?

[soulmistin]

Posted: 10/13/22 at 11:51pm

pmensky said: "soulmistin said: "I’m beyond disgusted at messages I am seeing in this thread. The woman involved is a close friend of mine and I cannot believe how this is being wrongly portrayed in SO many ways.


She did not want this, ANY of this. She went to the show last night with the highest of hopes and left absolutely devastated. She originally posted the video on Instagram to talk to her friends about this, and didn’t know it would have this reception. Her tweets alone about it have been viewedfour million timesaccording to twitter impressions, all of this happening throughout her workday with limited internet, so she didn’t immediately see the need to answer to endless people demanding the whole story from her. But since people can’t seem to get their facts straight, this is the story. I was physically present as well, though not with her.

• She went to Hadestown and requested a captioning device that is provided by the show. The house was aware of this. It is not an app, it’s a tablet device and looks like one.
• During the opening number during applause breaks Lilias said to her something along the lines of “stop recording” and “no recording” while her mic was off. The show wasn’t stopped and the majority of the audience did not hear. She was told it was yelling and believed itbecause she is deaf and literally could not hear it.

 

 

 


She left the show incredibly upset and was initially posting on her private Instagram, and decided to make it public, where it took off beyond her comprehension. She has no malice for the show or Lilias. She knows it was a mistake based off lack of education. She did not wish for hate to be spread, and she absolutely did not want this to escalate to the point it did. She has turned down many, MANY news interviews and potentially profitable opportunities she was offered because she does not want to see Lilias and the production suffer. She’s instead choosing to handle it directly with the involved parties.


Any other untrue “details” which have arisen are from third parties who have made assumptions, not her. She told her story truthfully and diplomatically from the start and I cannot be more proud of her. I’m happy to answer answer anything needing clarification. But I cannot stand to watch her, a victim in this situation, be criticized for not knowing the perfect method of handling a situation that shouldn’t have happened in the first place."





Thank you! I was writing while you were posting, and it turns out I was pretty much on the mark with my assumptions about the yelling and the third parties making up nonsense like so many in this thread. She is the victim here, and anyone who suggests otherwise has a broken moral compass."

 

 

 

Thank you! I’ve really just been quite frustrated by the entire thing because I’ve watched it happen from beginning to where it is now, and I have physically spent most of today with her watching her be overwhelmed by what this has become. I just wanted everything to be clear so at least opinions can be formed in a fair way. 

[pmensky]

Posted: 10/13/22 at 11:56pm

soulmistin said: "gibsons2 said: ""She did not wish for hate to be spread, and she absolutely did not want this to escalate to the point it did".

Except the hate and slander towards Lilias has already reached the levels that would be difficult to de-escalate. I'm sure it makes Lilias feel better that Samantha turned down profitable interview opportunities. She should refute her initial statement and clarify what actually happened."

I cannot believe the gall of this. It’s horrible, racist, and inexcusable what is being launched at Lilias. It’s also not Sam’s f****** responsibility to PR control the situation. She doesn’t have to refute a damn thing. She’s been honest from the start AND even made a clarifying twitter threat which she was not required to do. She’s a victim here, she’s not responsible for the reactions of others, no matter how awful they may be."

I think that when it comes to this board we’re just going to have to accept that certain people are sticking to mincing vocabulary words, because they feel it gives them the right to tear her down and blame her for the reactions people are having toward Lilias. It’s not worth arguing with them.

[PipingHotPiccolo]

Posted: 10/13/22 at 11:58pm

soulmistin said: ""

“yelled at” is subjective, and like I said, she is almost entirely deaf and physically unable to discern how loud of may have been. To her, and other hearing individuals, it was perceived as yelling. And it was mid show. During the opening number is during the show. She isn’t backpedaling, she strongly feels what she said was true and I don’t disagree. If she knew four million people would see it maybe she would have given more detail from the start, but what regular person assumes four million people will look?"

I am going SOLELY based on her own tweets. I wasn't there, i know nothing else. And i give her credit for clarifying what happened. I am WAY MORE perturbed by the people who saw those clarifications but are explaining them away. She--not me, she-- said it was handled professionally, concisely. She--not me-- said that she "was not publicly shamed." 

Given these accounts of what happened by her, it is frankly silly to now pretend the initial tweet and the subsequent tweets don't conflict with one another. The first said that she was yelled at, repeatedly, and it was her worst nightmare. The second said Ms. White handled herself professionally, concisely, and that she wasn't shamed. I am not beating up on this woman for clarifying her story; I'm pointing out the sheer inanity of so many who simply disregard the clarification. 

Now, is it wild that the cast of a major Broadway show isnt aware of the devices its own staff hands out to patrons at any given show? Yes. A huge mistake by the team at Hadestown. And i can reach that conclusion without pretending that there was "subjectively experienced yelling." 

[soulmistin]

Posted: 10/13/22 at 11:59pm

pmensky said: "soulmistin said: "gibsons2 said: ""She did not wish for hate to be spread, and she absolutely did not want this to escalate to the point it did".

Except the hate and slander towards Lilias has already reached the levels that would be difficult to de-escalate. I'm sure it makes Lilias feel better that Samantha turned down profitable interview opportunities. She should refute her initial statement and clarify what actually happened."

I cannot believe the gall of this. It’s horrible, racist, and inexcusable what is being launched at Lilias. It’s also not Sam’s f****** responsibility to PR control the situation. She doesn’t have to refute a damn thing. She’s been honest from the start AND even made a clarifying twitter threat which she was not required to do. She’s a victim here, she’s not responsible for the reactions of others, no matter how awful they may be."

I think that when it comes to this board we’re just going to have to accept that certain people are sticking to mincing vocabulary words, because they feel it gives them the right to tear her down and blame her for the reactions people are having toward Lilias. It’s not worth arguing with them."

You’re right and I don’t disagree, I fully admit I’m having some bias here because it’s hitting a nerve. It just makes me sad because do these people think she doesn’t know that people have been extremist and awful in their reactions? She knows, she feels terrible. But what can she even do? Lie and and say that what most certainly happened didn’t? She’s done everything she could thus far and has handled this so much astonishingly better than anyone else I know could, especially after being so upset by this. 

[soulmistin]

Posted: 10/14/22 at 12:06am

She misrepresented nothing. If you misunderstood what occurred because you believed the random testimony of people who were not even there, that’s your own responsibility. If people sent horrible things to Lilias, that’s because they’re horrible people, and that’s their responsibility.

[OceansJenny]

Posted: 10/14/22 at 12:08am

soulmistin said: "gibsons2 said: ""She did not wish for hate to be spread, and she absolutely did not want this to escalate to the point it did".

Except the hate and slander towards Lilias has already reached the levels that would be difficult to de-escalate. I'm sure it makes Lilias feel better that Samantha turned down profitable interview opportunities. She should refute her initial statement and clarify what actually happened."

I cannot believe the gall of this. It’s horrible, racist, and inexcusable what is being launched at Lilias. It’s also not Sam’s f****** responsibility to PR control the situation. She doesn’t have to refute a damn thing. She’s been honest from the start AND even made a clarifying twitter threat which she was not required to do. She’s a victim here, she’s not responsible for the reactions of others, no matter how awful they may be."

AMEN TO THIS! Samantha is not responsible for other people’s reactions. Period.

Perhaps the professional actor shouldn’t initiate a negative dialogue with an audience member in a public forum, which can create a public reaction. 

[PipingHotPiccolo]

Posted: 10/14/22 at 12:10am

soulmistin said: "But what can she even do? Lie and and say that what most certainly happened didn’t? She’s done everything she could thus far and has handled this so much astonishingly better than anyone else I know could, especially after being so upset by this."

She can do exactly what she started to do: clarify that her original tweet, for whatever reason, led people to inaccurate conclusions about what occurred. I'd say shes done it a hell of alot better than some of you all, because she said POINT BLANK that once you accept the mistake that we all agree Lillias was making, it was handled WELL.

You think I am parsing vocabulary words, and just totally ignore that she had to clarify "this was not a Patti LuPone situation"-- a clarification necessary because that was 100% the impression that was initially posted (except her post claimed it was worse, because it happened "multiple times".  

You claim she was TOLD that Lillias was yelling--certainly plausible, but that information was wrong, so there's another point worth clarifying explicitly. 

I 1000% understand how an initial post was inaccurate/careless and i give her all the credit in the world to the extent shes clarified, walked it back, etc. etc. But here we are pretending she didnt. 

Updated On: 10/14/22 at 12:10 AM

[soulmistin]

Posted: 10/14/22 at 12:17am

OceansJenny said: "soulmistin said: "gibsons2 said: ""She did not wish for hate to be spread, and she absolutely did not want this to escalate to the point it did".

Except the hate and slander towards Lilias has already reached the levels that would be difficult to de-escalate. I'm sure it makes Lilias feel better that Samantha turned down profitable interview opportunities. She should refute her initial statement and clarify what actually happened."

I cannot believe the gall of this. It’s horrible, racist, and inexcusable what is being launched at Lilias. It’s also not Sam’s f****** responsibility to PR control the situation. She doesn’t have to refute a damn thing. She’s been honest from the start AND even made a clarifying twitter threat which she was not required to do. She’s a victim here, she’s not responsible for the reactions of others, no matter how awful they may be."

AMEN TO THIS! Samantha is not responsible for other people’s reactions. Period.

Perhaps the professional actor shouldn’t initiate a negative dialogue with an audience member in a public forum, which can create a public reaction."

I fully agree with every sentiment about Lilias stated here, but I do feel like everything said here would be incomplete without adding this, possibly as my final word on the matter.

I’m lucky enough that I’ve gotten to meet Lilias quite a few times. Though I don’t know her well personally, I can tell, and many others can tell, she is a wonderful person. She is generous with her time and treats everybody with respect, and engages with people that other performers of her renown wouldn’t bother with. I truly truly believe she had no intent in hurting anyone here at all, and I hate that this has damage on her reputation. She made a mistake and did something she shouldn’t have, and that mistake was made worse by her initial assumption being incorrect. 

I (and Sam, as she’s stated many times) hope this can be a teaching moment for many, rather a source of shame and criticism for one person. This could’ve been anybody, it just happened to be Lilias. I hope everyone can remember that. 

[ManOfLaMuncha]

Posted: 10/14/22 at 7:49pm

this story is actually in the daily mail now

 

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11316361/Deaf-woman-humiliated-Broadway-star-using-closed-captioning-device-watch-performance.html

[VintageSnarker]

Posted: 10/14/22 at 9:10pm

soulmistin said: "The show wasn’t stopped and the majority of the audience did not hear. She was told it was yelling and believed it because she is deaf and literally could not hear it."

PipingHotPiccolo said: "You claim she was TOLD that Lillias was yelling--certainly plausible, but that information was wrong, so there's another point worth clarifying explicitly."

How does a hearing person mistake not yelling for yelling? Sounds like a s*** stirrer.

[morosco]

Posted: 10/14/22 at 9:34pm

Have any bootlegs of this particular performance surfaced yet?

[Wayman_Wong]

Posted: 10/14/22 at 9:37pm

Deadline.com: "Hadestown' Audience Member With Hearing Loss Urges Social Media Users to 'Stop Harassing' Lillias White; Actress Is 'Not the Enemy'

https://deadline.com/2022/10/hadestown-lillias-white-captioning-device-social-media-harassment-1235145493/

Updated On: 10/14/22 at 09:37 PM

[ACL2006]

Posted: 10/14/22 at 9:55pm

Maybe she shouldn't have taken to social media for this knowing it could have blown up like this and just contacted Jujamcyn instead? Has Lillias called out at all since this?

[perfectlymarvelous]

Posted: 10/14/22 at 10:07pm

ACL2006 said: "Maybe she shouldn't have taken to social media for this knowing it could have blown up like this and just contacted Jujamcyn instead? Has Lillias called out at all since this?"

Oh, come on. First of all, it's *much* easier to get eyes on an issue these days by posting on social media. Her stated goal is also to educate people so this doesn't happen to others, and many professional actors have responded to her posts saying they had no idea what these devices looked like or even that they were being used at all. Nobody expects their personal social media posts to go viral in this way. Even after all this, Samantha still only has 2000 Instagram followers; she's not exactly an influencer, even in the theatre space. I also know her personally, and it was absolutely not her intention for people to ever go after Lillias. It's not her fault how other people have behaved when she never even tagged Lillias in any of her actual posts, only Jujamcyn and Jordan Roth, which I think is fair given that the issue is ultimately lack of awareness of these devices and what they look like. 

 

[ViniFromBrazil]

Posted: 10/15/22 at 1:10am

How horrible of a name is Jujamcyn? How do I even pronounce it?

[TaffyDavenport]

Posted: 10/15/22 at 1:23am

It is horrible, and it's pronounced joo-JAM-sin.

[UWS10023]

Posted: 10/15/22 at 1:50am

You learn in Acting 101 that the show must go on regardless of any distractions. In my opinion the actress was acting like a diva. After a performer does something like that,  the audience members go home remembering the outburst rather than the performance by all involved.

Updated On: 10/15/22 at 01:50 AM

[Huss417]

Posted: 10/15/22 at 11:04am

NBC out of Boston also reporting.

https://www.nbcboston.com/entertainment/entertainment-news/hadestown-star-shames-audience-member-for-filming-but-device-is-for-hard-of-hearing/2863025/?fbclid=IwAR1NbwikVfx2ARxfxkILaCurSqXcCpHFNUHNKXhxaDCsRVUMglHl8DooGao

[East Village]

Posted: 10/15/22 at 1:26pm

The problem is cellphones in the theater. Clearly no one wanted to shame a disabled person. That thought never crossed anyone’s mind. They understandably misread an audience member using a captioning device with the ever growing number of obnoxious theater goers who can’t go 5 minutes without fiddling on their phones. Phones should be put away and never taken out in the theater. Period.

But producers seem to want to have it both ways and benefit from social media posts. So now every other person has take a picture of their playbill. Or stage curtain. Or take pictures of their family. Or text during performances. Or turn their lights on to dig through their pocket book or read. Or sneak a bootleg. Enough. It’s really distracting to other theater goers as well as performers. This isn’t an Olivia Rodrigo sing-a-long where the entire audience is 12 and is going to hold their screens over their heads while they drown out the performer with their own singing.

So theater owners. Stop letting the cellphones come out. It’s not suppose to be Disneyland. Instruct ushers no cellphones — period. If you need to use your phone then go outside at intermission with the smokers BECAUSE THIS IS CLEARLY AN ADDICTION . Then there’s no confusion if someone is using an assist device.

Updated On: 10/15/22 at 01:26 PM