Delta Air Lines has pulled its sponsorship of a controversial New York theater show, because it depicts a ‘Trump-like’ character and wife with a Slavic accent.
The airline said the production of the Shakespeare play Julius Caesar, in Central Park, had ‘crossed the line’.
The contemporary show, by non-profit group Public Theater, portrays Caesar as a blond-haired, powerful man wearing a business suit with an American flag pin, while his wife, Calpurnia, has a Slavic accent and dresses in designer fashions.
In a statement, Delta said the theater company’s ‘artistic and creative direction crossed the line on the standards of good taste’.
It added: "No matter what your political stance may be, the graphic staging of Julius Caesar at this summer’s Free Shakespeare in the Park does not reflect Delta Air Lines’ values."
Co-sponsor Bank of America has also pulled out.
A review in the New York Times last week said the ‘depiction of a petulant, blondish Caesar in a blue suit, complete with gold bathtub and a pouty Slavic wife, takes onstage Trump-trolling to a startling new level’.
