Cole Escola clarifies Nicole Scherzinger ‘four more years’ Tonys joke
Cole Escola has clarified their ‘Four more years’ joke after they learned that Nicole Scherzinger had won a Tony. (Getty)
Cole Escola has clarified their 'Four more years' joke after they learned that Nicole Scherzinger had won a Tony. (Getty)
Non-binary Oh, Mary! star and Tony winner Cole Escola has clarified their ‘four more years’ joke after Nicole Scherzinger won in the Leading Actress category – which many assumed to be a dig at Scherzinger’s Trump-related social media controversy.
Escola made queer history at the 78th Tony Awards over the weekend by becoming the first non-binary actor to win one of the accolades in the Leading Actor in a Play category for their role as Mary Todd Lincoln in Oh, Mary!.
The star, who uses they/them pronouns, was also nominated in the Best Play category, and accepted their Tony in a custom Wiederhoeft gown and ginger girls, in a nod to Gypsy star Bernadette Peters.
After thanking “T-Bo from Grindr” in their acceptance speech, it was in the press room for the event that Escola then joked about Sunset Boulevard star Nicole Scherzinger’s win.
Scherzinger courted controversy in November 2024 after praising a hat that under-fire actor Russell Brand, who was charged with rape and sexual assault in April this year, wore.
Brand wore a red hat, now synonymous with Donald Trump’s ‘Make America Great Again’ slogan, that read, “Make Jesus First Again” in a picture posted to social media. The former lead vocalist of girl group The Pussycat Dolls wrote, “Where can I get this hat!?” under the picture. Scherzinger later apologised.
After learning that Scherzinger had won, Escola joked, “Wow. The speculating is over. Four years. Four more years!” to the press room, in what many assumed to be a reference to how many more years the world has to endure Trump as president.
Now, Escola has clarified what they meant by the joke in an Instagram Story posted 10 June.
“When I made that joke, when I said, you know, well, ‘Four years. Four more years.’ I meant it like, well, she won, she’s who we’ve got for the next four years, as if I think wining Best Actress in a Musical is the same as winning a presidential election,” they explained.
“But, you know, people just want to pit us Broadway gals against each other. And I think it’s sad. I think it’s sad.”
At the time, Scherzinger apologised by saying, “I deeply apologise for the hurt caused by my recent engagement with some social media posts. When I commented on these posts, I made the mistake of not realising that they could be easily interpreted as being politically related and I apologise to anyone who understandably reached that conclusion.
“Many of the marginalised communities feeling hurt and concerned by the results of the presidential election are people I care about most. I stand with them, as I always have throughout my life and career. If you know me, you know that.”
Oh, Mary! sees Escola in the lead role as Mary Todd Lincoln, former First Lady of the United States and wife of Abraham Lincoln until his assassination in 1865.
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