Colbert’s Melania Trump Impressionist Laura Benanti Reveals Chilling Threats From MAGA Fans

Actress Laura Benanti portrayed First Lady Melania Trump on Stephen Colbert‘s The Late Show for a decade, but the role came with some frightening side effects.

Appearing on the latest episode of The Downside with Gianmarco Soresi podcast, the Mayor of Kingstown star revealed how Donald Trump supporters were so mad about her mocking performance of Melania on the late-night show that they doxxed and stalked her.

“I had to move. I had to literally move,” Benanti said, per The Huffington Post. “Somebody doxed me. This right-wing psychopath sent an email blast to all of his people, being like, ‘Hey.’ Not only was it my impression, but things I had said and political organizations I was a part of, and he was like, ‘Let her know what you think of her.’ And then put my f***ing address.”

Benanti shared that the situation got “so scary” when someone photographed her walking her young daughter, who was around two years old at the time, to school. She said she only found out about the photo because her driver, who “was MAGA,” received the email.

“He was so upset that they would do this, and I was like, ‘This is what I’m talking about!’” she recalled. “He texted me, and he was like, ‘This is what’s going on,’ and ‘What are we going to do?’ And I was like, ‘You tell me. These are your people!’”

The situation got so bad that the Life & Beth actress and her family were forced to leave the apartment they owned and move into a rental. “We were paying f***ing rent and a mortgage!” she stated.

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Benanti admitted that she considered dropping her Melania impersonation but ultimately chose to continue.

“There was a period of time where we all sort of were like maybe we don’t do it for a little while, and then it just felt like I was being a coward,” she remembered. “And I do think, in some ways, political satire is a public service. I can’t tell you the amount of people who come up to me who are like, ‘Thank you, I need that.'”

In addition to spoofing Melania, Benanti has had roles in Nashville, Supergirl, The Detour, Gossip Girl, and The Gilded Age. She’s also a Tony Award winner who has appeared on stage in The Sound of Music, Gypsy, Swing!, Into The Woods, She Loves Me, and more.