As a musical theatre fan (derogatory), TikTok addict, and general lover of drama, the recent Lea Michele discourse has piqued my interest to say the very least. In case you’ve been living under a rock, I’ll give you a quick recap (imagine this recap like the recaps at the beginning of every “Glee” episode).
The musical Funny Girl was revived on Broadway earlier this year. It reopened in April, starring Beanie Feldstein. I was thrilled when I heard about this casting, because I loved Beanie’s performances in Ladybird and Booksmart. I even went to see Beanie in this role back in May, and, contrary to the harsh reviews she received, I really loved it. But nobody on the internet seemed to agree with me. Beanie was scheduled to depart the revival in September, but ended up leaving the show at the end of July. Although nobody knows exactly why, it is presumed that she left due to her negative reviews and, perhaps, an offensive and fatphobic narrative established on social media. Her understudy, Julie Benko, picked up the role of Fanny until early August, when former Glee star Lea Michele took over. Famous for her portrayal of Rachel Berry in Fox’s Glee, many fans (myself included) were surprised by this casting choice because of the controversy she’s faced in recent years. I won’t get into the allegations too much, but a running internet joke came to be during the time these allegations were sparked: that Lea Michele cannot read.
When Lea Michele was announced as Beanie Feldstein’s replacement in Funny Girl, these rumors of her illiteracy reignited, spreading wider than ever. And, honestly, there’s some pretty compelling evidence out there that could potentially prove this theory. TikTok has been abuzz with this for a couple of months now, with almost no comment from Lea herself. That is, until she created a TikTok account of her own. Well, to clarify, I don’t think she actually made the TikTok account herself, because she wouldn’t have been able to read through the terms and conditions (LOL–just jokes!).
Jokes aside, I think she hired a new publicist, and this publicist had the idea to have Lea lean into this rumor by inserting her right into the conversation, poking fun at herself. And, honestly, I think it’s genius. Of course, she’s not bringing up her old racism allegations or taking too much ownership of her mistakes, but she’s laughing at herself, something the Rachel Berry we watched on our screens for so many years would have never been able to do. I’m talking about the TikTok she made explicitly saying that she couldn’t read her Tik Tok comments and paired it with a viral Kim Kardashian audio. I’m not gonna lie, I chuckled and gave it a like before sending it to my sisters, my best friend, and my entire friend group. At the end of the day, publicity is publicity, and Lea’s PR team is doing a pretty good job of handling all of the drama. Even so, I don’t think that anyone needs to go see her in Funny Girl when you can watch her do the exact same thing on Glee.