Deserved Diva Patti LuPone Stops Show & Has Audience Member Thrown Out ~ Deservedly?

Last night, I attended the evening performance of Gypsy. Patti LuPone angrily stopped her performance to berate and remove an audience member who took three, according to Patti, photos. Announcements before the performance and during intermission had specifically communicated that no photos were permitted. Patti's anger was intense and so was the berating.

Was this berating & removal deserved?

I had my own pov, of course, but wanted to hear the thoughts of others, both in attendance and not, before sharing my own...

- Sophia, an actress friend of mine, was appalled as her perspective is "The first thing you learn is that, regardless, the show always must go on."
-another friend involved in Broadway shows wasn't surprised given Patti's reputation of being over-the-top in her diva-ness. But he also thought she was completely out of line (even after giving her the benefit of the doubt that this has possibly been a continuous issue during the production).
-several friends in the business world shared the perspective that "we don't know what's happened in that theatre" (what she's had to put up with throughout the production) and that her actions could very well be justified.
-a very few felt nothing justified her behavior.

Interesting, the range of pov's and considerations given their fields.

I was curious to see whether I would hear any viewpoint(s) compelling enough to alter my own perspective. I didn't. Below are my thoughts on the situation:

-I give Patti credit for her singing talents. Wow! She is very deserving of Diva. This was my first LuPone performance and I was blown away by her singing (acting, not so much as I couldn't get lost in her character and was always conscious that I was watching an actress on a stage).

-I agree with Patti that Broadway isn't what it used to be, for the worse. Every time I see a show, I am disappointed to see people in jeans, gym shoes, shorts even. I irritated that grown adults can't seem to remember to turn their cell phones off. Who forgets to turn their phone off in such a venue? I don't even want to know what other situations these people allow their phones to ring. I'm irritated by those who can't seem to truly whisper. And appalled by situations such as one a friend experienced...the person behind her unwrapped a tuna sandwich and had dinner.

-I agree that no photos should be taken during performances. This is Patti's means of making a living (the salaries of entertainers is a separate issue), there are copyright laws, and come on...how disruptive to someone on stage to have light flashes where there shouldn't be any.

-The intensity of the anger Patti displayed for all of us was shocking. It was enough for the stranger sitting next to me to tell me it made his palms sweat ~ enough to put knots in my stomach...and we weren't even the intended recipient of the berating. But, let's give Patti the benefit of the doubt...if it irritates me, how much more so would it irritate those on stage who are there night-after-night? Given this was 'Gypsy', given this was 'Patti LuPone', I have to believe cell phone and photography issues happen with each performance.

-But does any of this justify calling someone out and berating them in front of an audience? Does it justify anyone attacking another? In public? With such intense anger? Where's the professionalism? Where's the maturity? The bad behavior of one person does not justify bad behavior from another. (I could go into the fact that the audience member was an adoring fan, but that perspective seems so trivial given the degree of Patti's response.)

I believe Patti's inappropriate behavior far surpassed that of the audience member who snapped the photos. I walked in holding her in high regard, I left with an extremely low opinion of her. And yes, her talent is more than diminished. In my eyes, she stripped herself of all talent. It's up to Patti to create her talent again.

We live in a country where we enjoy our individual rights. Personally, I'm tired of inappropriate behavior being justified by one's 'rights' and by what our government has set as law.

(And don't get me started on that new commercial she's in.)