Lea Michele says she had ‘healing, eye-opening’ talks with Glee co-stars after bullying claims
Since the accusation from Samantha Ware, Lea Michele has apologised for “causing pain”. (Axelle/Bauer-Griffin/FilmMagic)
Lea Michele, who starred as Rachel Berry in the comedy-drama series Glee, has revealed she contacted her former co-stars following multiple accusations concerning her behaviour on set.
The actress – who recently replaced Beanie Feldstein in the role of Fanny Bryce in Funny Girl on Broadway – was accused of constant micro-aggressions on set by former cast-mate Samantha Ware.
The accusations garnered an avalanche of support from fans and appeared to receive backing from several of Ware’s castmates, including Alex Newell, Amber Riley and Dabier Snell.
Speaking to Interview, Michele was asked whether she has attempted to rectify some of these wrongdoings; and according to the actress, she’s been doing a lot of reflection.
“I think these past two years have been so important for everybody to just sit back and reflect,” she explained. “I did a lot of personal reach-outs. But the most important thing was for everybody to just take a step back.”
Michele went on to say that her time spent doing “the hardest f**king role in New York” had afforded her a new perspective on mending those relationships.
“More than anything, I’m so grateful to have this opportunity to apply the things that I’ve learned over the past ten-plus years in a positive way,” she continued.
“What I told myself stepping into Funny Girl was, ‘If I can’t take my role as a leader offstage as important as my role as a leader onstage, then I shouldn’t do this show.’ Because that was always a struggle for me.”
Since the accusation from Ware, Michele has apologised for “causing pain”.
Michele – who was recently thanked by a fan for “all she does for people who can’t read” – went on to say that she’d since had ‘healing’ conversations with people she made contact with.
“At the end of the day, what matters the most is how you make people feel,” she added. “And you have to put aside your feelings. The conversations that I’ve had behind the scenes with some people were incredibly healing and very eye-opening for me.”
Michele also made no excuses for her past behaviour.
“I wouldn’t ever blame anything on the things that I’ve been through in my life. But you also can’t ignore those experiences or deny them. They are a part of the patchwork of my life.”
