After his Zoom audition went viral, 25-year-old Euphoria actor Lukas Gage received an apology from the director that made inappropriate comments regarding the actor and his apartment in the video. Since it went viral, the audition video has been viewed over a million times, with the director's identity not being made public until now.
Gage posted a video on Instagram and Twitter captioned, "psa if youre a s**t talking director make sure to mute ur s**t on zoom mtgings." In it, the actor preps for a virtual audition, only to be commentated on by the voice of the director on the other end of the Zoom call. While believing to be on mute, the unidentified voice can be heard making insensitive comments about Gage's apartment, saying, "These poor people live in these tiny apartments. I'm looking at his background, and he's got his TV..." Gage quickly responds with, "I know it’s a s----y apartment, that’s why [you should] give me this job so I can get a better one." Quickly after, Gage gets ready to continue with the audition, while the director comments how mortified he is. Now, the director has identified himself and issued an apology.
Via Deadline, television director Tristram Shapeero, know for his work on episodes of shows such as Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt and Community, wrote a public apology letter to Lukas. In it, he offers a "sincere and unvarnished apology" and explains that the nature of his comments was "in the sense of deserving sympathy, as opposed to any economic judgment." He claimed that he and his colleagues were "deeply moved by the passion of these young people under the extraordinary circumstances" and that he will "move forward from this incident a more empathetic man."
As of yet, Gage has not responded to Shapeero's apology, posted to Deadline just last night. Comments from celebrities regarding the audition video included director Judd Apatow's tweet saying, "As a young man I would have dreamt of an apartment like that one," and actress January Jones' Instagram comment asking Lukas to "dm me who it was so I can make note not to ever work with that person." Gage rose to prominence last year in the HBO original series Euphoria. In the fallout from his video going viral, many fans speculated the offending director's identity in question. One theory leaned towards it being Kingsman: The Secret Service director Matthew Vaughn, noting a similar British accent.
Lukas' decision to keep the name of the initially mysterious voice to himself proved to be a smart move, as the director has now, very publicly, expressed his mortification and appreciation for Lukas' art. However, while it does seem heartfelt and sincere, the timing of Shapeero's apology after a four-day delay and fallout from around the entertainment industry does lead one to question if it's a genuine apology. Shapeero could just be trying to save face after an embarrassing moment, similar to the fallout from stories of workplace bullying by Ellen DeGeneres earlier this year.
While time will tell how this affects the film and television industry as a whole, Lukas Gage's story teaches two essential lessons; be kind to others and always check your mic. In a year where nearly every industry has to rely on technology to perform everyday tasks that would once be carried out face-to-face, virtual auditions become a mainstay that industry professionals need to get used to.