John Lacy(I)

In 2014, during a performance of "Cat on a Hot Tin Roof" - where he played Big Daddy - he broke character and went off the stage to confront a disturbed audience member who kept shouting ant-gay slurs towards Brick (played by Anton Troy), the oppressed gay character from Tennessee Williams classic play. The drunk guy in the audience challenged Lacy after being reprimanded by the actor. Lacy got off the stage and pushed the man, who fell instantly and was later removed from the theater by another audience member, the filmmaker Tim Sullivan. While many media outlets and the public praised Lacy's act, it wasn't good enough for the producers of the play and they decided to fire him; in protest, many of the principal actors (including Troy) decided to quit and the production was canceled. A few days later, the play was revived through NOH8 Fundraiser.

I said: 'What did you say, motherfucker?". I went through our stage door, took off my vest, went into the audience - as he stood proudly to stare at me with a stupid grin on his face [and] I pushed him, and he was drunk, so he easily just collapsed. I knew better than to start throwing punches. I had made my point. I silenced the heckler, and thankfully, one of the audience members, this enormous 6'5'', 280-lb. filmmaker named Tim Sullivan, who happened to be gay and was not at all happy with what was happening, reached over and picked this guy up by his shirt collar and literally carried him out of the theater. Of course, I could have stopped and said ''Could we have the house lights on, please? I'd like this gentleman removed''. But when you call my fellow actor a 'f-g' in front of the audience, it's not fucking acceptable.