Over the weekend, Neil Patrick Harris made headlines for allegedly cursing at a heckler during Hedwig and the Angry Inch Saturday night. However, the How I Met Your Mother actor and his reps say that the quote was taken out of the context of improvisation.
According to a report from the New York Post, Harris told a fan, “I’m doing something up here, motherf**ker” while performing.
When taken out of context, it sounds as if Harris was angry at someone who yelled “I love you” at him. But Harris took to Twitter to explain that this was not the case. “It seems my Hedwig improvs are making news, but one should have the full story/context,” Harris wrote.
He added a link to Gossip Cop, which noted that the line was part of the improvisation that is encouraged in the cult musical, in which Harris plays a transgender rocker. “The response to the fan yelling was actually done in character — Neil as Hedwig, not as though Neil stopped the show to respond out of character,” a rep for the star said.
The rep explained, “When the fan initially yelled, ‘I love you, Neil,’ Neil (as Hedwig) then responded, ‘Who’s Neil? I’m not Neil.’ He then looked over at Yitzhak (played by Lena Hall) and said, ‘Are you Neil? You better not be Neil’ followed by Hedwig then offering the quote in question.”
Hedwig and the Angry Inch is still in previews at the Belasco Theatre. Opening night is Tuesday.