Patti LuPone Finally Sings Aboard Queer Cruise Ship After It Was Banned From Turkey and Egypt
The Tony-winning actress posted on social earlier this month that she was “shocked” and “furious” about what happened.
Broadway legend Patti LuPone finally got to sing to a ship full of gay men.
Over the weekend, LuPone posted to Instagram a photo of herself on stage in front of the vacationers on the Scarlet Lady, a cruise ship chartered by LGBTQ+ travel company Atlantis Events.
The caption read, “A ship—a magnificent ship—full of gay men. And me.”
It comes almost two weeks after LuPone took to social media to call out Turkish officials for not allowing the ship and its some 2,000 passengers to port.
LuPone posted on Instagram on July 3: “I am shocked. The Atlantis cruise I am performing on next week has been banned from entering Turkey. A ship – a magnificent ship – full of gay men. And me. Denied entry to Turkey simply because of who is on board. I am furious, but I am sailing, as the ship will make other ports of call. I am ready to perform for all the wonderful men on this Atlantis cruise, who deserve so much better than this.”
The post went viral.
Turkish officials responded online that the ship was chartered “by groups known for behaviours that do not align with the structure of our society and our moral values.”
“There is absolutely no possibility of the group in question visiting our province for an event of this nature,” they added.
Turkey has seen a severe erosion of LGBTQ+ rights in recent years. Around the time it stopped the cruise ship from docking, about 50 people were arrested in Istanbul during a Pride event that happened after authorities had banned it.
The ship then moved on to port in Egypt; however, Egypt also banned the vessel shortly before it was due to arrive.
Passengers woke Thursday morning to a note from Rich Campbell, the chief executive of Atlantis Events, according to The Guardian.
“Early this morning, we were informed that Scarlet Lady has been denied entry into Egyptian waters, and, as a result, will no longer be able to call in Alexandria today,” it said. “I know how much this visit meant to so many of you. We successfully sailed a similar itinerary last year without issue. So we were surprised by this unfortunate decision.”
Campbell’s note added, “Please know that both the Atlantis and Virgin Voyages teams worked tirelessly to make this call in Alexandria a possibility. This news came as a surprise to all of us, and we’re just as disappointed as you are.”
Campbell previously told CNN that Turkey was the first time an Atlantis cruise has been refused entry to a port.
Like in Turkey, LGBTQ+ people face harsh persecution and discrimination in Egypt, according to Outright International.
On Friday, the ship finally docked in Crete.
LuPonne’s post over the weekend also went viral, with many celebrating it.
LuPonne’s Agatha All Along co-star Joe Locke wrote, “Queen” in response to the new photo.
A user wrote, “Slay it queen.”
Another user said she should book a lesbian cruise next time. The user wrote, “I would love to see you do an Olivia Cruise. Your lesbian fans deserve equal time!”
