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== Controversy ==
In June 2021, a former employee of Walnut Street Theatre received a cease-and-desist letter from the theatre's lawyer after commenting on a social media post published by the Walnut with the following message:<ref>{{Cite web|date=2021-06-14|title=America's Oldest Theater Wants to Shut This South Philly Actress Up|url=https://www.phillymag.com/news/2021/06/14/walnut-street-theatre-bernard-havard-jenna-pinchbeck/|access-date=2021-06-26|website=Philadelphia Magazine|language=en-US}}</ref> <blockquote>When will you let us know what you’ve been doing for the past 15 months to make your space safer for BIPOC, trans, disabled, and marginalized artists? What work have you been doing during this Black Lives Matter uprising? How are you going to make women feel more safe with Bernard [Havard, the theatre's President and Producing Artistic Director] at the helm? Will you ever hire a black director for the main stage? Will you diversify your board? Have. You. Done. Anything?</blockquote>The cease and desist letter claimed the former employee's inquiry falsely suggested "criminal activity", and threatened legal action should she continue to speak out against Walnut Street Theatre and Bernard Havard. In defiance of the letter, the former employee formed the organization Protect the Artist Philly, which collected over 90 accounts from current and former Walnut Street Theatre employees describing racism, sexism, homophobia, pregnancy discrimination, and other forms of discrimination, workplace harassment, and abuse they experienced while working at the theatre.
In response to these accusations, the Walnut Street Theatre responded, "There have been allegations – which we have always taken seriously – on social media against the Walnut and its President and Producing Artistic Director. As per the company's policy, the Board of Trustees engaged a third-party investigator that found the allegations against the President to be false. We also categorically disagree with all the negative statements about the institution."
On June 18, 2021, members of Protect the Artist Philly organized a protest in front of Walnutthe Street Theatretheatre and down Walnut street in Center City, Philadelphia, ending in Rittenhouse Park.<ref>{{Cite web|date=2021-06-22|title=Philly theater artists demand change in workplace behavior at Walnut Street Theatre|url=https://aldianews.com/articles/culture/theater/philly-theater-artists-demand-change-workplace-behavior-walnut-street|access-date=2021-06-26|website=AL DÍA News|language=en}}</ref> Throughout the protest, former employees and members of the Philadelphia arts community shared accounts of racism, pay inequities, and other forms of discrimination experienced at the Walnut.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Theater artists protest Walnut Street Theatre, claiming abusive behavior|url=https://whyy.org/articles/theater-artists-protest-walnut-street-theatre-claiming-abusive-behavior/|access-date=2021-06-26|website=WHYY|language=en-US}}</ref> Protect the Artist Philly also publicly released a number of demands of Walnut Street Theatre, including the removal of President and Producing Artistic Director Bernard Havard, the hiring of a full-time Director of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Access, a living wage for all employees of the theatre, a staff and creative teams that reflectsreflect the racial diversity of the city of Philadelphia, and increased financial transparency in response to publicly available tax records that show that Havard's yearly salary is over $700,000 at the nonprofit theatre and revelations that the theatre received a Paycheck Protection Program loan of over $1.42 million following the layoff and failure to properly compensate over 120 employees of the theatre during the Covid-19 pandemic.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Willis|first=Moiz Syed,Derek|title=WALNUT STREET THEATRE CORPORATION - Tracking PPP|url=https://projects.propublica.org/coronavirus/bailouts/loans/walnut-street-theatre-corporation-2080367202|access-date=2021-06-26|website=ProPublica|language=en}}</ref>
Walnut Street Theatre has not publicly responded to Protect the Artist Philly's demands nor has its lawyer pursued legal action resulting from defiance of the cease and desist letter.
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