Broadway star trolled for moaning about not being recognized on plane: ‘Anyone know who the hell she is?’

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Laura Benanti, a Tony Award-winning actress, received a lot of criticism online after sharing a video on Instagram about a frustrating experience she had on an airplane.

As a huge fan of Benanti, I was so excited to hear she’d just flown in! But apparently, her arrival wasn’t quite the dream she expected. She landed on a flight full of teenagers – a theater group, of all things – and they were… less than welcoming. It sounds like they gave her a bit of a shock, which is just awful to hear.

The 46-year-old actress said, with a wry smile, that it bothered her a lot that no one recognized her.

I asked if they were in a theater group, and they said they were. I told them I did theater too, and a young man wearing a beret and jacket just said ‘Cool,’ she said with a sigh, finishing with ‘It’s over.’

People on X responded with mockery, with comments such as ‘I have no idea who that is,’ ‘Does anyone recognize her without looking it up?’ and ‘She seems like someone who would be cut off at an airport bar.’

Benanti received so much criticism on her Instagram post that she had to clarify she was joking about herself, not the people she mentioned. She wrote, ‘I don’t expect you to know me, I’m just making fun of myself!’

She playfully teased her younger travel companions in her original post, joking, ‘You all weren’t around to see The Tonys back in 2008!’

She was talking about the year she received an award for playing Louise in a new production of the classic 1959 musical, Gypsy, alongside Patti LuPone, who played Mama Rose.

Her Broadway career took off in 1998 when she started in a revival of The Sound of Music. She quickly rose from being a member of the ensemble to playing the lead role of Maria von Trapp – a part famously played by Julie Andrews in the movie.

Throughout her career, she’s also appeared in updated versions of beloved Broadway musicals like Into the Woods, She Loves Me, Nine, and My Fair Lady.

One of her standout roles was playing a scatterbrained and anxious model in the 2010 musical adaptation of Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown. This was based on the 1988 film by Pedro Almodovar, which launched Antonio Banderas to international fame.

She’s appeared in several TV shows, including Nashville, Supergirl, Go On, the new Gossip Girl, and The Gilded Age. For nearly ten years, she’s also regularly played Melania Trump on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert.

People on X weren’t impressed with her background, with many admitting they didn’t even recognize her. One user said, ‘I had to look her up and still have no idea who she is.’

Someone shared a meme featuring a confused-looking Humphrey Bogart from an old movie. The meme said, ‘Who are you, and why should I care?’

On X, a user named Kel Varnson shared a comic depicting actress Sara Bareilles (playing a character resembling Beanie Feldstein) asking an airline employee, ‘Do you know who I am?’ The comic shows the airline then making an announcement: ‘Attention passengers, we have a woman here who appears to be unaware of her own identity.’

Some people mocked her by posting the advertisement for her own show, which is ironically titled ‘Laura Benanti: Nobody Cares’.

Someone on X pointed out that Broadway stars live in a small world where they’re treated like celebrities, but that fame disappears as soon as they leave the theater district.

Some people strongly defended Benanti, with one person angrily stating that she was a true icon and that the criticism revealed a disturbing lack of culture. They lamented that society had become filled with people who lacked individuality and appreciation for art, and that Benanti deserved a more discerning audience than she received on the flight. They felt standards had drastically declined.

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2026-04-03 18:18