Anthony Ramos calls out Madonna for using iPad during ‘Hamilton’ show

Anthony Ramos did not throw away his shot.

The 33-year-old former Hamilton star recently recalled Madonna giving him quite the fright when he spotted her in the audience during one of his performances of the acclaimed show on stage.

“The most terrifying was Madonna with her iPad in her face,” Ramos said during his Thursday appearance on Watch What Happens Live while host Andy Cohen peppered him with a string of “scary questions.”

“She was like this the whole time,” Ramos continued, mimicking someone staring down at an iPad. “I’m like, ‘Damn, shorty, if you’re not enjoying it that much, the door’s right there. You ain’t gotta stay here.'”

Ramos was part of the original cast of Lin-Manuel Miranda’s Tony-winning Broadway musical, playing the dual roles of John Laurens and Philip Hamilton from July 2015 until November 2016.

After leaving Hamilton, Ramos took on the lead role in the film adaptation of In the Heights, Miranda’s breakout 2008 Broadway hit, which also earned widespread critical praise. Ramos continued building his career, nabbing a starring turn in 2023’s Transformers: Rise of the Beasts, 2024’s Twisters, and several other TV and movie projects.

The original Broadway cast of Hamilton reunited on June 8 during the 78th Annual Tony Awards to celebrate the musical’s 10th anniversary. Since its Broadway debut in 2015, the show, inspired by the life of Founding Father Alexander Hamilton, has become a cultural phenomenon, shattering box office records and earning a record-breaking 16 Tony nominations and winning 11 trophies, including Best Musical.

Ramos did not say when Madonna attended the Hamilton performance. However, in 2015, Playbill reported that creator and star Miranda banned Madonna from visiting the cast backstage after an April 18 performance of the show when it was still Off Broadway due to her poor theater etiquette.

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In a now-deleted tweet, the Pulitzer Prize–winning lyricist wrote, “Tonight was the first time I asked stage management NOT to allow a celebrity (who was texting all through Act 2) backstage. #noselfieforyou.”

The Playbill story also reported that Madonna had arrived late to that night’s performance and that she was seen using a phone throughout the show.