Gilded Age star Denée Benton likens Ron DeSantis to a KKK Grand Wizard at Tony Awards speech, sparking rapturous applause from the NYC crowd
- Actor Denée Benton took aim at Florida Republican Governor Ron DeSantis at Sunday’s Tony Awards ceremony, calling him a “great wizard”
- Benton, known for her work in The Gilded Age and on Broadway, presented an award for excellence in theater education to a Florida high school teacher
- She joked that DeSantis would like to change the name of the teacher’s town to Plantation, Florida, as the New York crowd roared with laughter.
Denée Benton, the star of HBO’s The Gilded Age and a Broadway veteran, likened Florida Governor Ron DeSantis to a “great wizard” during a live broadcast of the Tony Awards on Sunday night.
The term is historically associated with the Ku Klux Klan (KKK), with the “great wizard” being the organization’s supreme leader.
Benton, who is from Orlando, presented a special Tony Award on stage to Jason Zembuch-Young, a teacher from Plantation, Florida.
‘While I’m sure the present great wizard—I’m sorry. Excuse me – the governor of my home state of Florida will change the name of this next city (Planation, Florida) immediately…” Benton said, pretending to trip over the governor’s name.
Actor Denée Benton took aim at Florida Republican Governor Ron DeSantis at Sunday’s Tony Awards ceremony, calling him a “great wizard”
She joked that DeSantis would like to change the name of the teacher’s town to Plantation, Florida, as the New York crowd roared with laughter.
Benton’s comments seemed to acknowledge DeSantis’ legislative push in Florida to enact racist and discriminatory policies that restrict school curricula on American history, along with other similar moves during his tenure.
She also performed the play about the meaning of the word ‘Plantation’ – the city where an award winner came from.
Benton continued, “I’m sure he’ll immediately change the name of this next city, but we were honored to present this award to the truly incredible and life-changing Jason Zembuch Young, [for] improving the lives of students at South Plantation High School in Plantation, Florida.”
Her remarks were enthusiastically applauded by the assembled audience for several seconds during the ceremony in Upper Manhattan. Benton couldn’t help but laugh at the enthusiastic response.
Benton’s comments seemed to acknowledge DeSantis’ legislative push in Florida to enact racist and discriminatory policies that restrict school curricula on American history, along with other similar moves during his tenure.
Benton is perhaps best known for her work in The Gilded Age, seen at right
Denee Benton poses on the red carpet at the 76th annual Tony Awards in New York on Sunday
Governor DeSantis recently announced his candidacy for the Republican nomination in the 2024 presidential election, sparking a potential race against Donald Trump.
DeSantis is a pariah on Broadway and in Hollywood after championing the “Don’t Say Gay” legislation that threatened to reverse decades of hard-won civil rights gains.
The governor also took on Hollywood in its battle with Disney over special tax breaks given to the company in the Sunshine State.
Benton gained recognition in the theater world after a Tony nomination in 2017 for her portrayal of Natasha in ‘Natasha, Pierre & The Great Comet of 1812’.
She has also appeared on Broadway as Eliza Hamilton in ‘Hamilton’ and as Cinderella in ‘Into the Woods’.