Delta Air Lines and Bank of America became the first companies to announce they are pulling their sponsorships from a Manhattan-based theater company’s portrayal of Julius Caesar as a Donald Trump look-alike character in a business suit who gets stabbed to death on stage.
Delta and Bank of America announced their intentions on Sunday.
[lz_ndn video=32541334]
“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,” the company’s statement said. “Their artistic and creative direction crossed the line on the standards of good taste.”
Bank of America added it was withdrawing funding for the production.
“The Public Theater chose to present Julius Caesar in such a way that was intended to provoke and offend,” the bank said in a tweeted message. “Had this intention been made known to us, we would have decided not to sponsor it.”
Related: Trump-Supporting Musician Talks Political Bias in Hollywood
Performances at Central Park’s Delacorte Theater began in late May, just days before comedian Kathy Griffin was condemned for posing for a photograph with a bloodied rendering of Trump’s head.
Oskar Eustis, the Public Theater’s artistic director who also directed the play, said earlier in a statement that “anyone seeing our production of ‘Julius Caesar’ will realize it in no way advocates violence towards anyone.”
“Julius Caesar” tells a fictionalized story of a powerful, popular Roman leader who is assassinated by senators who fear he is becoming a tyrant. It is set in ancient Rome, but many productions have costumed the characters in modern dress to give it a present-day connection.
The production runs through June 18.
This Fox News article is used with permission. The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Read more at Fox News:
Jennifer Lawrence OK After Plane Reportedly Makes Emergency Landing
‘Wonder Woman’ Buries ‘The Mummy’ at Box Office
Tom Cruise: A Star in Slow-Motion Career Meltdown
Join the Discussion
Comments are currently closed.