Sammie Ware, a former star of “Glee,” has been vocal about her dissatisfaction with the decision to hire Lea Michele in the role of the new lead in the Broadway production of “Funny Girl.” She voiced her sentiments freely on Twitter:
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 had previously criticized the way Michele treated her on the Ryan Murphy series. Ware said in June 2020 that Michele rendered her time on the Fox program a “living nightmare” after the latter voiced solidarity for the Black Lives Matter movement. This allegation was made in response to Michele’s statements.
Sammie Ware shared all her on-set experiences in a Vanity Fair interview:
Lea’s actions were nothing new, so I guess since it was such a common thing, my case didn’t seem like that big of a deal. I remember the first day I actually spoke up and unfortunately no one did anything. They just shrugged it off, like ‘That’s her.’ No one was stopping these things, which is an issue because the environment was helping perpetuate this abuse.
A representative for Michele did not reply promptly to any requests for comments that were made.
Funny Girl lead
After Beanie Feldstein revealed on Sunday that she would be leaving the production early, the producers decided that Lea would be the best fit to fill the role of Fanny Brice.
Feldstein’s departure from “Funny Girl” was originally scheduled for the month of September. The 31st of July will now be her last performance. Before Michele takes over as Fanny on September 6, performer Julie Benko will portray the part for the month of August.
Well over two years have passed since Michele was called out for allegedly mistreating actresses while working on the set of “Glee.” Despite this, she has been hired for the role.
