Lin-Manuel Miranda weighs in on 'valid' criticism that 'Hamilton' glorifies slave owners

By Megan Stone

"Hamilton," the critically acclaimed musical that collected a whopping 11 Tony Awards, is available for streaming now on Disney+. However, not everyone is excited about the news.

Shortly after it was announced the stage production would be added to the streamer's catalog, critics hopped on social media claiming the musical, created by Lin-Manuel Miranda, glorifies slave owners.

From those intense discussions, the trending #CancelHamilton hashtag was born on Twitter. While there is no evidence that Alexander Hamilton himself owned slaves, critics say he was complicit with the slave trade by befriending slave owners and marrying a woman from a slave-owning family, Elizabeth Schuyler.

Eventually, Miranda weighed in on the discussion about whether or not the musical is problematic. The 40-year-old joined the debate after "Another Round" podcast co-host Tracy Clayton defended the production by calling it "a flawed play about flawed people written by an imperfect person."

She argued that "hamilton the play and the movie were given to us in two different worlds," adding that the discussions demonstrate "a clear sign of change."

Following Clayton's remarks, Miranda responded to her sentiments but didn't absolve his musical of all wrongdoings.

Appreciate you so much, @brokeymcpoverty. All the criticisms are valid. The sheer tonnage of complexities & failings of these people I couldn’t get. Or wrestled with but cut. I took 6 years and fit as much as I could in a 2.5 hour musical. Did my best. It’s all fair game. https://t.co/mjhU8sXS1U

— Lin-Manuel Miranda (@Lin_Manuel) July 6, 2020

"All the criticisms are valid," the "In the Heights" creator tweeted on Monday. "The sheer tonnage of complexities & failings of these people I couldn’t get. Or wrestled with but cut. I took 6 years and fit as much as I could in a 2.5 hour musical."

Overall, he made it clear that he welcomes all forms of debate. "Did my best," he concluded. "It’s all fair game."

In a NPR interview last month, Miranda acknowledged Hamilton's involvement with slavery.

"Hamilton — although he voiced anti-slavery beliefs — remained complicit in the system," he told Terry Gross. "And other than calling out Jefferson on his hypocrisy with regards to slavery in Act 2, doesn't really say much else over the course of Act 2. And I think that's actually pretty honest. ... He didn't really do much about it after that."

"None of them did. None of them did enough," Miranda added. "And we say that, too, in the final moments of the song. So that hits differently now because we're having a conversation, we're having a real reckoning of how do you uproot an original sin."

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