US sponsors ditch Caesar mirroring Trump
Play shows Trump-like Caesar stabbed to death by women, minorities
New York, June 12: Two major US companies have withdrawn their sponsorship of an outdoor New York production of Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar that sparked uproar for apparently portraying the assassinated Roman ruler as similar to Donald Trump.
Delta Air Lines and Bank of America announced the decision on Sunday after mounting criticism that included the President’s eldest son, Donald Trump Jr., wading into the debate about the summer performance in Central Park.
“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 airline said in a statement.
“Their artistic and creative direction crossed the line on the standards of good taste. We have notified them of our decision to end our sponsorship as the official airline of The Public Theater effective immediately,” it added.
Bank of America, which said it had an 11-year partnership with The Public Theater and Shakespeare in the Park, quickly followed suit.
“The Public Theater chose to present Julius Caesar in a way that was intended to provoke and offend,” a spokesperson said.
“Had this intention been made known to us, we would have decided not to sponsor it. We are withdrawing our funding for this production.”
There was no immediate comment from The Public Theater, which is staging the production at the openair Delacorte Theater.
Fox News reported on Sunday that the play appears to depict the US president “being brutally stabbed to death by women and minorities”, saying that the title character looks “very similar to the tall, blond businessman” commander-inchief.
In a note published on the production’s website, artistic director Oskar Eustis said the play did not endorse the assassination of any political leader, but said Shakespeare’s tragedy was instead about the fragility of democracy.
“Julius Caesar can be read as a warning parable to those who try to fight for democracy by undemocratic means. To fight the tyrant does not mean imitating him,” Mr Eustis said.
The production has been playing since May 23 and is scheduled to run until June 18.