Lea Michele is finally opening up in depth about the allegations against her.
Back in June 2020, Lea tweeted her support to the Black Lives Matter Movement. A former Glee co-star, Samantha Ware, then responded to her on Twitter, writing:
“LMAO remember when you made my first television gig a living hell?!?! Cause I’ll never forget. I believe you told everyone if [you] had the opportunity you would ‘sh-t in my wig!’ Amongst other traumatic microagressions that made me question a career in Hollywood…”
After Samantha’s tweet, more and more people came out of the woodwork with their support to Samantha or their own allegations against Lea. Lea issued an apology after Samantha’s tweet went viral.
Now, the 36-year-old performer is gearing up to play her dream role of Fanny Brice in Funny Girl on Broadway. And she is directly responding to the past allegations. In a new interview with the New York Times, Lea said that after Samantha’s tweet and the massive backlash that followed, she went into an “intense time of reflection,” sharing:
“I really understand the importance and value now of being a leader. It means not only going and doing a good job when the camera’s rolling, but also when it’s not.
And that wasn’t always the most important thing for me.”
When she was asked specifically about Samantha’s accusations, Lea stated that she does not “feel the need to handle things” through the media. She went on to say:
“I have an edge to me. 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.”
On replacing Beanie Feldstein on Funny Girl, Lea said:
“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.”
She said this about not being eligible for a Tony Award because she did not originate the role:
“You might think that’s the biggest piece of bull that I’m going to say to you all day… But I really don’t care about that at this point. It’s just about being able to play this part.”
She also declared:
“I will never be as good as Barbra Streisand.”
And Lea also finally directly addressed the rumors that she can’t read, declaring:
“I went to ‘Glee’ every single day; I knew my lines every single day.
And then there’s a rumor 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.”
