Hillary Clinton's Tony Awards joke sparks criticism

Ex-Senator made a surprise appearance at the 2024 Tony Awards, joking about her 2016 election defeat.

Hillary Clinton made an unexpected appearance at the 2024 Tony Awards on Sunday night, where she made a humorous reference to her 2016 presidential election loss. 

The former Secretary of State and First Lady received a standing ovation from the A-list crowd at Lincoln Center's David H. Koch Theater in New York City. Clinton was there to present a performance from the musical 'Suffs,' which she co-produced.

Hillary Clinton gets standing ovation in surprise appearance at #TonyAwards pic.twitter.com/wtiKBLDjxK

— Deadline Hollywood (@DEADLINE) June 17, 2024

In her introduction, Clinton acknowledged her 2016 electoral defeat, saying, "I have stood on a lot of stages, but this is very special. I know a little bit about how hard it is to make change," prompting laughter from the audience. She then encouraged attendees to vote in the upcoming 2024 presidential election.

Democrats were like, “how do I do something more cringe than Robert DeNiro?”

Hillary Clinton: “hold my drink” https://t.co/8aTIc5cJxK

— Ryan James Girdusky (@RyanGirdusky) June 17, 2024

Despite the warm reception, Clinton's appearance was met with some criticism. Vulture writer E. Alex Jung noted, "Cheers to whoever was brave enough not to do the standing ovation for Hillary Clinton."

cheers to whoever was brave enough not to do the standing ovation for hillary clinton

— E. Alex Jung (probably) (@e_alexjung) June 17, 2024

'Suffs' won awards for Best Book of a Musical and Best Original Score, but lost in the Best Musical category. This was Clinton's first Tony nomination, adding to her previous Emmy and Grammy wins.