Disturbing Audience Behavior Reported at “Operation Mincemeat” performance
by Chris Peterson
Reports are coming out of a disturbing moment during a recent performance of Operation Mincemeat on Broadway when an audience member reportedly shouted “Heil Hitler” during the show. The remark came after the song “Das Übermensch,” a satirical number that addresses fascist ideology, when an actor posed a rhetorical question to the audience.
The alleged incident was reported by Joanie Leeds, who said the individual who made the statement was sitting next to her. Leeds, a Grammy-winning musician, posted about the incident on her Instagram account, saying the incident ruined the rest of the show for her.
“In today's episode of the world has gone mad and we are living in the upsidedown, the opening song for Act 2 in @mincemeatbway, the cast sings a hilarious uptempo song making fun of NOzi soldiers dressed in uniform and singing in a German accent. Directly following, an actor came onstage & calls out the audience for applauding for them with a deadpan "whose side are you on?" which of course gets a laugh because what hateful, useful idiot would be on the side of Nazis and also at a Broadway show in NYC?
Then a man to my right shouts out at the top of his lungs
"HEIL H"TLER" and legit wasn't joking.
I then had to spend the whole second act sitting in next to an actual NOzi. So no, I didn't enjoy the show. Luckily I was able to witness the absolute genius of @jakmalone_ before the whole thing was spoiled. Just WOW. All around."
The production has not issued a public response at this time, and there is no confirmation as to whether staff at the John Golden Theatre were aware of the comment during the performance.
There is no easy protocol for moments like this. Audience interaction, especially during moments of satire, often invites unexpected responses. But this was not an awkward laugh or a comment that missed the point. Apparently, this was a Nazi salute said aloud in a Broadway theater in 2025, and that alone is worth pausing over.
What does it mean when someone feels emboldened to say something like that in a public space? What are the responsibilities of those around them? What does safety and respect look like in today’s theater spaces? These are difficult but necessary questions.
This moment is not just about what was said. It is about how deeply out of place it was and how hurtful it can be, even if only one person said it. For Jewish audience members especially, hearing those words in a crowded room, regardless of intent or context, can be jarring and upsetting.
So what should happen in moments like these? It is easy to look back and wonder what could have been done. Should someone have spoken up? Should the theater have responded in the moment? Should there be more training for handling disruptive or offensive behavior?
Maybe. But rather than looking to place blame, this feels like an opportunity to start a broader conversation, about audience responsibility, about hate speech, about the atmosphere we want to protect within our creative spaces.
The theatre community has long prided itself on being a place of welcome and inclusion. But inclusion also means knowing what to do when that safety is threatened, even by a single voice.
What happened at Operation Mincemeat may have been one isolated comment from one individual, but the reaction to it, or lack of one, shows us how complicated these moments can be. Antisemitism has no place in our theaters. Not whispered. Not shouted. Not ever.