Chris Colfer is letting his opinion be known when it comes to Lea Michele and her controversial casting in Funny Girl!
As you know, the drama surrounding the Broadway musical revival goes deep — with Lea having her eye on the role of Fanny Brice and making it known to the world since her days in Glee. She only got her wish after the original choice for the role, Beanie Feldstein, faced some heavy criticism. And how could we forget that loaded statement in her social media post announcing her departure:
“Once the production decided to take the show in a different direction, I made the extremely difficult decision to step away sooner than anticipated.”
Ouch!
After rumors producers were blindsided just like fans by Beanie’s departure, they set the record straight and said that WASN’T the case at all — but it wasn’t enough to convince some people. Especially since their statement was almost word-for-word exactly the same as the 29-year-old’s. Hmm…
Amid all this, Lea was under fire with allegations of creating a “toxic” work environment on the set of Glee. In June 2020 she was accused of “traumatic microaggressions” and racist abuse by fellow alum Samantha Ware while the two were filming the TV show. Lea apologized at the time, lamenting how “she hurt other people” in her past. Still, major damage was done. She addressed these allegations in a NYT sit-down early last month where she was very honest about how harsh her personality can be:
“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. 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.”
Lots of messiness surrounding this play! We need an entire production just to understand what went on behind the scenes. At least it seems like the drama is all in the past now, right? Well…
On Tuesday, while on an episode of The Michelle Collins Show, Lea’s former co-star/TV bestie put the kettle back on the stove! The actor, who played Kurt Hummel on the hit Ryan Murphy show, responded to Collins’ invitation to go see a Broadway play while he’s in town:
“Oh, no. Are you seeing Funny Girl? … Um.”
When the host burst into laughter, Chris brushed off her offer with a not-so-convincing excuse:
“My day suddenly just got so full.”
In shock, Michelle exclaimed:
“Wow! Chris!”
Yeah, we couldn’t have said it better ourselves. Wow!
The 41-year-old added it’s “only right” if she sees Lea’s performance as Fanny since she saw Beanie play the role, too. Colfer quickly changed the subject, however:
“Uh, well I saw Six last night. That was amazing.”
Deflection much? The host did eventually bring the subject back around to Funny Girl, though, and said:
“So you’re not seeing it is what I’m guessing?”
And in a jaw-dropping response, the 32-year-old came back with:
“No, I can be triggered at home.”
Snap!
Ch-ch-check out the audio clip for yourself (below):
Wow, talk about some serious shade. Reactions, Perezcious readers?
[Image via Nicky Nelson/MEGA/WENN.com]
