Former Glee star Samantha Ware is angry with the Broadway production of Funny Girl for casting Lea Michele despite her reported accounts of bullying.
Michele’s desire to become Barbra Streisand has been a well-known thing in the Glee fandom and online. While a lot of people are celebrating Michele finally gaining her long sought-out role as she replaces Beanie Feldstein in the lead role of Fanny Brice, Ware said that it’s irresponsible for Broadway to reward Michele. On Twitter, Ware wrote, “Yes, Broadway upholds whiteness. Yes, Hollywood does the same.”
"Yes, silence is complicity," she continued. Yes, I'm loud. Yes, I'd do it again."
Yes, I’m online today. Yes, I see y’all. Yes, I care. Yes, im affected. Yes, I’m human. Yes, I’m Black. Yes, I was abused. Yes, my dreams were tainted. Yes, Broadway upholds whiteness. Yes, Hollywood does the same. Yes, silence is complicity. Yes, I’m loud. Yes, I’d do it again.
— SAMEYA (@Sammie_Ware) July 11, 2022
Ware came out in 2020 with her account of Michele's racism on the 'Glee' set.
The actress made it a point to take Michele to task when Michele tweeted in support of Black Lives Matter during the social uprising after George Floyd’s death.
“When you tweet, ‘Black lives matter,’ that would mean you have an understanding of what that hashtag means, but it’s clear that it doesn’t,” she said. “Does Lea even know what a microaggression is? I don’t know. All that her apology did was affirm that she hasn’t learned anything.”
Ware also revealed that Michele made her time on the sixth season of Glee "a living hell," adding that she believes Michele "suffers from a symptom of living in this world in an industry that is tailored to white people.
Ware claimed that Michele was extremely passive-aggressive, made snide comments under her breath about her, and gave her “the silent treatment,” “stare-downs” and “looks.” She also said that Michele went off on her for supposedly “goofing off” on set.
Michele responded to Ware and other cast members' admissions about her behavior in an Instagram post acknowledging her past behavior.
“When I tweeted [in support of Black Lives Matter] the other day, it was meant to be a show of support for our friends and neighbors and communities of color during this really difficult time,” Michele wrote. “But the responses I received to what I posted have made me also focus specifically on how my own behavior towards fellow cast members was perceived by them.”
