Eddie Redmayne Trolled for ‘terrifying’ Tonys 2024 Cabaret performance – with star likened to ‘Pennywise the clown’ and a ‘goblin’

Eddie Redmayne faced online criticism for his ‘terrifying’ Cabaret performance at Sunday’s 2024 Tony Awards.

The star was compared to Pennywise the clown in the eerie skit. However, his extremely quirky rendition, with him belting out showtunes in a unique manner, making bizarre gestures, and gazing wild-eyed at the camera in extreme close-ups, led to comparisons to a ‘sleep paralysis demon.’ Fans even joked that his Oscar should be revoked.

One fan wrote: ‘Why is Eddie Redmayne playing the emcee in Cabaret like he’s a goblin?’ 

Another wrote of the star – who was nominated in the Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Musical category: ‘Eddie Redmayne is terrifying.’

Others wrote: ‘is it possible to have someone’s oscar revoked (this is an eddie redmayne tweet)’ and ‘f*** eddie redmayne. Give your #Oscar to Michael Keaton! #TonyAwards

Another penned: ‘Eddie redmayne giving us pennywise the clown emcee’ while one fan typed: ‘We didn’t need Eddie Redmayne in close-up during Les Mis and we don’t need it during this!’

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Others wrote: ‘eddie redmayne is scaring me’, ‘Eddie Redmayne in Cabaret is my new sleep paralysis demon. jesus christ’, ‘imagine flipping the channels and seeing eddie redmayne the muppet crawling on the floor’ and Eddie Redmayne in closeup can’t hurt me Eddie Redmayne in closeup can’t hurt me Eddie Redmayne in closeup can’t hurt me.’

Others praised the performance with one follower writing: ‘Eddie Redmayne COOKED with this performance’ and another penning: ‘Eddie Redmayne is everything.’

The actor is currently reprising his award-winning performance as Emcee in the production – directed by Rebecca Frecknall – as part of its transfer from London to NYC. The Theory of Everything star’s performance as Emcee in the acclaimed West End revival of the 1930s Kander and Ebb musical, alongside Jesse Buckley, earned him an Olivier Award for Best Actor in a Musical.

The production had its official opening night at the August Wilson Theatre – which has been transformed into the in-the-round nightclub The Kit Kat Club – on Sunday. The Broadway revival, where audience members are invited at allotted times to enjoy pre-show entertainment, cocktails, and dining ahead of the show starting – will see Eddie play Emcee for a limited run until August 31.