The cast of the Broadway hit "Hamilton: An American Musical" will not apologize for the statement it made Friday to Vice President-elect Mike Pence after a performance of the musical in New York.
"There's nothing to apologize for," Brandon Victor Dixon, who plays Aaron Burr in "Hamilton" and delivered the cast's statement Friday, said Monday in an interview on "CBS This Morning."
"The resonant nature of the show throughout the world … demands that we make statements when there are important issues, I think, facing us as a community. And so we wanted to stand up and spread a message of love and of unity, considering all the emotional outpour since the election."
Dixon echoed a statement he made earlier on social media, telling "CBS This Morning" that he was grateful Pence "stood there and listened to what we had to say."
"It was the beginnings of a conversation (that) I hope we continue to have," he said.
WATCH: @HamiltonMusical star @BrandonVDixon responds to criticism of his curtain call speech to @Mike_Pence https://t.co/y5Km1eU66N pic.twitter.com/km8rKznrnM
— CBS This Morning (@CBSThisMorning) November 21, 2016
The "Hamilton" cast has been criticized for addressing Pence as he left the show Friday.
"Vice President-elect Pence, we welcome you and we truly thank you for joining us here at 'Hamilton: An American Musical,'" Dixon said Friday. "We, sir, are the diverse America who are alarmed and anxious that your new administration will not protect us, our planet, our children, our parents or defend us and uphold our inalienable rights, sir. But we truly hope this show has inspired you to uphold our American values and to work on behalf of all of us. All of us."
This is the statement made by @HamiltonMusical after the performance on November 18, 2016. pic.twitter.com/H2UhXjvWUf
— Hamilton (@HamiltonMusical) November 19, 2016
President-elect Donald Trump took to Twitter over the weekend to demand an apology from the cast, claiming they "harassed" the future vice president and calling the show "highly overrated."
Our wonderful future V.P. Mike Pence was harassed last night at the theater by the cast of Hamilton, cameras blazing.This should not happen!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 19, 2016
The Theater must always be a safe and special place.The cast of Hamilton was very rude last night to a very good man, Mike Pence. Apologize!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 19, 2016
The cast and producers of Hamilton, which I hear is highly overrated, should immediately apologize to Mike Pence for their terrible behavior
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 20, 2016
In an appearance Sunday on Fox News, Pence said that he enjoyed watching "Hamilton" and took no offense at the statement gave by cast members.
"It was a real joy to be there," he said.
.@mike_pence: I really enjoyed watching Hamilton. It was a real joy to be there. I heard a few boos. I wasn't offended by what was said.
— FoxNewsSunday (@FoxNewsSunday) November 20, 2016
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