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Tony Award-winning American actress and singer Idina Menzel, famous for voicing leading character Elsa in Disney’s Frozen, recently sparked controversy after she revealed in an interview the real reason behind her divorce from former husband and Broadway actor Taye Diggs.
Idina Menzel told the host, Jesse Tyler Ferguson, of the podcast Dinner’s on Me that the split after 10 years of marriage happened because:
"The thing that came into play more, I would say — and Taye has talked about it too — is the interracial aspect of it," she shared.
Idina Menzel also stated how Taye Diggs had a hard time in his Black community and was allegedly judged for being married to a “white, Jewish girl” which also contributed to the split.
As soon as her remarks surfaced on the internet, it sparked criticism. In this regard, an Instagram user commented under @theshaderoom’s post.
Idina Menzel’s grandparents emigrated to the USA from Russia
Now 52 years old, Idina Menzel was born Idina Kim Mentzel in Manhattan but later grew up partly in New Jersey and Long Island. Her father, Stuart Mentzel, was a salesman, while her mother, Helene Goldberg, was a therapist. Idina also has a younger sister named Cara.
Idina Menzel follows Judaism, and her grandparents were Russian immigrants to the USA. Her parents divorced when she was 15, following which she began working as a singer at weddings and bar/bat mitzvahs. Later, during her career on Broadway, the Queen of Broadway, as she is often nicknamed, changed the spelling of her surname from Mentzel to Menzel for the sake of easier pronunciation.
Netizens slam Idina Menzel for saying race was the factor behind her divorce from Taye Diggs
On Tuesday, October 17, the “Queen of Broadway” Idina Menzel appeared on Jesse Tyler Ferguson’s podcast Dinner’s On Me and shared that her split with ex-husband Taye Diggs after 10 years of marriage had an “interracial aspect” to it.
When asked whether their separate successes added to problems in the marriage, Idina Menzel said that the reasons were far more complicated than just that, and there were multifaceted racial challenges that she and Taye Diggs experienced.
"He was on the cover of Essence and Ebony, and being interviewed by all of these Black journalists, and I think he had his own stuff to deal with, with that. And it seemed like there was some disappointment in the community with him because he was married to a little white Jewish girl from some show we don’t even remember."
She also clarified how, in the field of theater, differences in race, ethnicity, and s*xual orientation did not affect relationships, but outside that bubble, things were different. Idina further stated that whenever they were on red carpets, photographers wanted separate photos of just Taye, leaving her out of the frame.
"So, I took that on too. That was stuff we had to deal with. It was less about being successful and more about that stuff."
Netizens began to criticize her once her statements went viral. Here are some of the reactions from the comment section of @theshaderoom’s Instagram post reporting the same.
For those uninitiated, Diggs and Menzel first met on Broadway in 1995, when Diggs was already a star and she was starting out. They met during the production of the Broadway musical Rent, where Menzel played the role of Maureen Johnson and Diggs played that of Benjamin “Benny” Coffin III.
The couple started dating soon after, and in 2003 they tied the knot. In 2009, they welcomed their son, Walker Diggs. During their marriage, they went on to star together in many Broadway shows and films. However, their marriage did not last more than a decade, and in 2003, they got divorced. Since then, they have been co-parenting.
In the podcast, Idina Menzel mentioned how Taye Diggs continued to be supportive of her, despite their split and separate lives. Currently, Idina is married to actor-singer Aaron Lohr and Taye is dating reality star Apryl Jones.
So far, Taye Diggs has not commented on Idina Menzel’s claims. Neither has she reacted to the backlash.
