It’s not often in this cruel, vicious world that you get the chance to experience a moment of true catharsis. Luckily for us, Laura Benanti, master of the stage, is here to provide exactly that. Benanti verbally destroyed RFK Jr.-supporter-to-Trump-supporter-pipeline participant Zachary Levi on That’s a Gay Ass Podcast on December 4. Benanti starred alongside Levi and the recently and tragically deceased Gavin Creel in 2016’s She Loves Me revival. In the wake of Creel’s death, Levi began peddling conspiracy theories on social media that Creel died because he got the COVID vaccine. “I never liked him,†Benanti said. “Everyone was like, ‘He’s so great,’ and I was like, ‘No, he’s not. He’s sucking up all the fucking energy in this room, and he wants to mansplain everybody’s part to them.’†Honestly: Get his ass.
@ericwillztt “I never liked him†-@Laura Benanti (full ep in bayou) #broadway #playbill #zacharylevi #broadwaymusical #theaterkid #podcast
♬ original sound - Eric Williams
The most searing part of Benanti’s diatribe came when she discussed Levi’s tribute to Creel. “To use [Creel’s] memory for his political agenda, and to watch him try to make himself cry until he had one single tear, which he did not wipe away, I was like, ‘Fuck you forever,’†Benanti added. Now’s a good time to remember Zachary Levi’s voice cracked in a very conspicuous and embarrassing way during the She Loves Me Tony performance. Somehow, it made everybody else, including national treasures Benanti, Creel, and Jane Krakowski, look even better.