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Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson made her Broadway debut in the jukebox musical “& Juliet” Saturday night, making her the first justice to hit the Great White Way.
“I just always loved theater, and I felt very comfortable on stage,” she told CBS’ Vladimir Duthiers.
And the justice’s comfort on stage was apparent as she belted out, “Female empowerment—sick,” while making a shaka hand gesture.
Appointed by President Joe Biden in 2022, Jackson told CBS that she had a passion for both theater and debate during her school years. Those interests led her to pursue law and ultimately helped earn her a seat on our nation’s highest court.
But the first Black woman to serve on the Supreme Court also wants to “remind people” that justices are “human beings” who also “have dreams.”
“We are public servants,” she said before adding that the jurists “are not so detached from the people that we serve.”
“& Juliet” is a wildly popular musical that reimagines what might have happened if Juliet in Shakespeare’s “Romeo & Juliet” didn’t kill herself. The show has a strong message of female empowerment and gender nonconformity—messages that Jackson told CBS are “wonderful.”
Jackson has been outspoken about her support for women’s rights, notably criticizing her Republican-majority colleagues for dismissing a case over whether a state can ban abortions to protect women’s health.
More recently, the liberal justice appeared to side with transgender people’s rights in the historic U.S. v. Skrmetti case, which is awaiting a ruling.
While Jackson has been spending her free time hitting the coveted stage and living out her lifelong dream, other justices’ extracurricular activities haven’t been as tasteful and cultured.
In April 2023, ProPublica published a brutal report detailing Justice Clarence Thomas’ extensive history of accepting lavish vacations from Republican megadonor Harlan Crow.
Over the years, Thomas has taken advantage of Crow’s private jet, superyacht, private Adirondacks resort, and more.
Meanwhile, fellow conservative Justice Samuel Alito has also accepted secret luxury vacations from conservative donors and thrown his wife under the bus for flying the same flags as Jan. rioters and Christian nationalists outside his homes.
Whichever way these justices might be spending their free time (or freebies), Jackson told CBS that she hopes people see a lesson in her taking the stage.
“Don’t give up and don’t be deterred—and again, anything is possible,” she said.
