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11 June 2025

Cole Escola defends Nicole Scherzinger remark: ‘People just want to pit us Broadway gals against each other’

Escola defended the joke, saying they meant it "as if I think winning Best Actress... is the same as winning a presidential election"

By Gary Grimes

Cole Escola and Nicole Scherzinger
Cole Escola and Nicole Scherzinger (Images: @colbertlateshow/nicolescherzinger/Instagram)

Cola Escola, recent winner of Best Actor at the 2025 Tony Awards for their performance in Oh, Mary!, has defended a comment they made about fellow winner Nicole Scherzinger.

Escola, who is non-binary and uses they/them pronouns, was filmed at a post award show press conference learning that Nicole Scherzinger had won the Tony for Best Actress in a Musical for her turn in Sunset Boulevard.

Upon hearing the news, Escola said: “Wow. The speculating is over… Four years. Four more years.”

Many interpreted Escola’s comment to be a reference to Trump’s presidential term and Scherzinger’s Trump-related controversy, after the former Pussycat Dolls frontwoman drew criticism last November when she commented under a social media post by disgraced comedian Russell Brand.

In the post, Brand could be seen wearing a red hat with the slogan ‘Make Jesus First Again’, similar in style to Trump’s ‘Make America Great Again’ merchandise. Scherzinger commented saying: “Where do I get this hat?!” alongside a prayer hands emoji and a red heart emoji.

Just days before Scherzinger’s comment, British police had asked prosecutors to consider charging Brand over sexual assault claims. The singer later deleted the comment and issued a public apology.

Escola has since taken to their Instagram story to clarify what they meant.

“When I made that joke, when I said, you know, well, ‘Four years. Four more years.’ I meant it like, well, she won, she’s who we’ve got for the next four years, as if I think wining Best Actress in a Musical is the same as winning a presidential election,” they explained.

“But, you know, people just want to pit us Broadway gals against each other. And I think it’s sad. I think it’s sad.”

In her apology last year, Scherzinger said: “I deeply apologise for the hurt caused by my recent engagement with some social media posts. When I commented on these posts, I made the mistake of not realising that they could be easily interpreted as being politically related and I apologise to anyone who understandably reached that conclusion.

“Many of the marginalised communities feeling hurt and concerned by the results of the presidential election are people I care about most. I stand with them, as I always have throughout my life and career. If you know me, you know that.”

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