Lea Michele is once again addressing allegations of bullying on the set of Glee as she heads into her coveted role as Fanny Brice in the Broadway revival of Funny Girl.
In a new New York Times interview, Michele chalks up complaints about her behaviour on Glee as a simple matter of “perfectionism” gone awry. “I have an edge to me,” she said, per Rolling Stone, regarding costar Samantha Marie Ware's claims that Michele created a hostile work environment. In June 2020, Ware tweeted that Michele threatened to “s*** in my wig,” along with other “traumatic microaggressions.” Those tweets were boosted by fellow Glee cast members Amber Riley and Alex Newell.
In a verbal statement, Riley said that Glee was not the “most comfortable environment”, while Heather Morris wrote that Michele was “unpleasant” to work with.
We're getting goddess vibes.
Michele released a lengthy Instagram apology at the time but addressed the controversy again with The New York Times, saying, “I work really hard. I leave no room for mistakes. That level of perfectionism, or that pressure of perfectionism, left me with a lot of blind spots.”
Drama appears to follow Michele wherever she goes, especially as the actor prepares to take over the role of her dreams from Beanie Feldstein, who left the Broadway production under less-than-ideal circumstances. “Everyone here has been through a lot, and I just have to come in and be prepared and do a good job and be respectful of the fact that this is their space,” Michele said of joining the remaining cast and crew.
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And if you think Lea Michele is disappointed that she won't be eligible to receive a Tony Award this time around, she assured the Times that this is not the case. “You might think that’s the biggest piece of bull that I’m going to say to you all day,” Michele said. “But I really don’t care about that at this point. It’s just about being able to play this part.”
In a somewhat ironic turn of events, Michele also addressed a bit of online bullying on her end regarding a somewhat unhinged conspiracy theory that she is illiterate. “I went to Glee every single day; I knew my lines every single day,” she said. “And then there’s a rumour online that I can’t read or write? It’s sad. It really is. I think often, if I were a man, a lot of this wouldn’t be the case.”
This story was originally published in GLAMOUR (US).
Following in her footsteps.
