Former Glee star Samantha Ware says she’s hurt, but not surprised, by the recent news that Lea Michele has replaced Beanie Feldstein in Funny Girl, two years after Ware alleged the actress created a toxic work environment on set.
On Monday, Ware tweeted, “Yes, I’m online today. Yes, I see y’all. Yes, I care. Yes, I’m 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.”
Ware first spoke out in June 2020 after Michele tweeted in support of the Black Lives Matter movement following George Floyd’s death, a tweet that has since been deleted. Michele’s statement in support of anti-racism prompted Ware to respond, “Lmao remember when you made my first television gig a living hell?!?! Cause I’ll never forget. I believe you told everyone that if tou [sic] had the opportunity you would ‘shit in my wig!’ Amongst other traumatic microaggressions that made me question a career in Hollywood.”
Ware then followed up that Twitter revelation with an interview with Variety in which she detailed exactly how Michele allegedly made her time on Glee such a nightmare, giving examples of times Michele attempted to belittle and embarrass her on set. She added that Michele “told me to shut my mouth” and allegedly told her she didn’t deserve a role on Glee and attempted to get her fired. She concluded, “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. Am I calling Lea a racist? No. Does Lea have racist tendencies? I think Lea suffers from a symptom of living in this world in an industry that is tailored to white people.”
On June 3, Michele issued an apology on Instagram, posting a lengthy statement that read, “While I don’t remember ever making this specific statement and I have never judged others by their background or color of their skin, that’s not really the point, what matters is that I clearly acted in ways which hurt other people. Whether it was my privileged position and perspective that caused me to be perceived as insensitive or inappropriate at times or whether it was just my immaturity and me just being unnecessarily difficult, I apologize for my behavior and for any pain which I have caused.”
Ware’s latest response comes after the news that Michele will replace Feldstein as Fanny Brice in Broadway’s Funny Girl revival. Feldstein announced on Sunday that she would be exiting the production two months earlier than expected, citing the producers’ decision “to take the show in a different direction.”
The next day, the show revealed that Michele would be her replacement and four-time Tony nominee Tovah Feldshuh will be replacing Jane Lynch, who was also scheduled to depart on Feldstein’s original September end date. Following the news, Michele wrote on Instagram, “A dream come true is an understatement.”