That cool Tony Awards moment when Jay-Z joined Alicia Keys? Turns out it wasn't live

NEW YORK (AP) — Jay-Z's electrifying reunion with Alicia Keys on what appeared to be a live duet of “Empire State of Mind” at the Tony Awards was actually pre-taped, a show official who wasn't authorized to speak publicly told The Associated Press.

The appearance of the rapper in support of Keys' musical “Hell's Kitchen” led to a boost of excitement inside the arena but it now appears it was a piece of Hollywood trickery, undercutting the Broadway communities' full-throated embrace of live singing and dancing.

A representative from Jay-Z's Roc Nation and a producer at White Cherry Entertainment did not return messages seeking clarification on what happened Sunday night. A senior publicist for the telecast also did not return requests for comment on Monday.

“Hell's Kitchen,” which won two awards Sunday night — for star Maleah Joi Moon and Kecia Lewis, who plays her mentor — is loosely based on Keys' years growing up in that Manhattan neighborhood and contains old hits and new songs from the singer-songwriter. Keys is a producer but doesn't appear in the show. The show ends with a rousing edition of “Empire State of Mind.”

Each best new musical nominee at the Tony Awards gets a slot performing and “Hell's Kitchen” was first, with the cast playing a medley of songs — including her hit “Fallin'” — from the show.

Then Keys appeared at the piano on the stage of the David H. Koch Theater in Lincoln Center and began singing her and Jay-Z’s 2009 smash. She soon got up and went down the steps of the stage and into the orchestra seat section and out the side of the auditorium — “Had to do something crazy. It’s my hometown,” she explained to the crowd — moments later apparently joining the rapper on some of the venue's marble steps to wild applause. “Brooklyn, New York City in the Tonys tonight!” Jay-Z signed-off at the end.

The audience and media was inside the auditorium and no photos have surfaced of the two performers live. A version of the two finishing the song was beamed to the TV audience and a video screen inside the venue. Keys wore the same outfit she was wearing onstage. Jay-Z was never spotted entering the packed auditorium.

While some parts of the Tony telecast are pre-taped — technical awards handed out before the show, some advertising packages and often segments from the top nominated plays — the strong feeling is that the musical performances are what audiences will see when they come to Broadway, with no trickery.

New York Magazine first reported that the segment had been pre-taped.

Mark Kennedy is at http://twitter.com/KennedyTwits

Alicia Keys performs with members of the company of "Hell's Kitchen" during the 77th Tony Awards on Sunday, June 16, 2024, in New York. (Photo by Charles Sykes/Invision/AP)

Alicia Keys performs with members of the company of "Hell's Kitchen" during the 77th Tony Awards on Sunday, June 16, 2024, in New York. (Photo by Charles Sykes/Invision/AP)

Alicia Keys, left, and 'Hell's Kitchen' cast member Maleah Joi Moon perform during the 77th Tony Awards on Sunday, June 16, 2024, in New York. (Photo by Charles Sykes/Invision/AP)

Alicia Keys, left, and 'Hell's Kitchen' cast member Maleah Joi Moon perform during the 77th Tony Awards on Sunday, June 16, 2024, in New York. (Photo by Charles Sykes/Invision/AP)

Alicia Keys performs alongside members of the company of "Hell's Kitchen" during the 77th Tony Awards on Sunday, June 16, 2024, in New York. (Photo by Charles Sykes/Invision/AP)

HUNTSVILLE, Texas (AP) — A Texas man who admitted that he kidnapped, sexually assaulted and fatally shot an 18-year-old woman in 2001 was set to be executed on Wednesday evening.

The remains of Bridget Townsend weren't found until October 2002, two years after she vanished, when Ramiro Gonzales — having received two life sentences for kidnapping and raping another woman — led authorities to the spot in southwest Texas where he had left her body.

A lethal injection was planned to begin after 6 p.m. CDT at the state penitentiary in Huntsville.

Gonzales, 41, was condemned for fatally shooting Townsend after kidnapping her in January 2001 from a home in Bandera County, located northwest of San Antonio. He took her to his family’s ranch in neighboring Medina County, where he sexually assaulted her and killed her.

About 1½ hours before Gonzales' scheduled injection, the U.S. Supreme Court declined a defense request to stop the execution. The high court rejected arguments by Gonzales’ lawyers that he has taken responsibility for what he did and that a prosecution expert witness now says he was wrong in testifying that Gonzales would be a future danger to society, a legal finding needed to impose a death sentence.

“He has earnestly devoted himself to self-improvement, contemplation, and prayer, and has grown into a mature, peaceful, kind, loving, and deeply religious adult. He acknowledges his responsibility for his crimes and has sought to atone for them and to seek redemption through his actions,” Gonzales’ lawyers wrote Monday in their petition. A group of faith leaders also asked authorities to stop Gonzales' execution.

Gonzales’ lawyers argued that the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals violated his constitutional rights by declining to review his claims that a prosecution expert, psychiatrist Edward Gripon, wrongly asserted Gonzales would be a future danger. After re-evaluating Gonzales in 2022, Gripon said his prediction was wrong.

“I just want (Townsend’s mother) to know how sorry I really am. I took everything that was valuable from a mother,” Gonzales, who was 18 at the time of the killing, said in a video submitted as part of his clemency request to the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles. “So, every day it’s a continual task to do everything that I can to feel that responsibility for the life that I took.”

Bridget Townsend’s brother isn't persuaded. In various petitions and posts on Change.org, David Townsend has criticized efforts to portray Gonzales as anything other than a convicted murderer who committed “unforgivable acts." He said the death sentence should be carried out.

“Our family seeks not revenge, but closure and a measure of peace after years of heartache — a quest that is hindered, not helped, by decisions that allow the perpetrator of our pain to remain in the public eye,” David Townsend wrote.

Earlier this month, a group of 11 evangelical leaders from Texas and around the country asked the parole board and Gov. Greg Abbott to halt the execution and grant clemency to Gonzalez, saying he now helps other death row inmates through a faith-based program.

“We are writing as Christians calling for you to spare the life of another Christian – Ramiro Gonzales. Ramiro has changed. Because he has changed, we believe the circumstances surrounding him should change as well,” they wrote.

On Monday, the parole board voted 7-0 against commuting Gonzales' death sentence to a lesser penalty. Members also rejected granting a six-month reprieve.

Prosecutors described Gonzales as a sexual predator who told police he ignored Townsend’s pleas to spare her life. They argued that jurors reached the right decision on a death sentence because he had a long criminal history and showed no remorse.

“The State’s punishment case was overwhelming,” the Texas Attorney General’s Office said. “Even if Dr. Gripon’s testimony were wiped from the punishment slate, it would not have mattered.”

If Gonzales’ execution proceeds, it would be the second this year in Texas.

Lozano reported from Houston.

Follow Juan A. Lozano on X: https://twitter.com/juanlozano70

This image provided by the Texas Department of Criminal Justice shows Texas death row inmate Ramiro Gonzales. The Texas man convicted of fatally shooting of an 18-year-old Southwest Texas woman whose remains weren’t found until two years after she vanished is facing execution. Gonzales is scheduled to receive a lethal injection Wednesday, June 26, 2024 at the state penitentiary in Huntsville. (Texas Department of Criminal Justice via AP)