“Broadway upholds whiteness”: Lea Michele and Samantha Ware’s feud explored as latter responds to Glee co-star’s Funny Girl casting

Glee star Lea Michele will be replacing Beanie Feldstein in Broadway's Funny Girl. Following the official announcement, former Glee star Samantha Ware took to Twitter to express her dissaproval of the casting.

In her tweet, Ware accused Broadway and Hollywood of "upholding whiteness" and said that "silence is complicity."

In 2020, the star had accused Lea Michele of making her life "a living hell," among other traumatic aggressions that made her question her survival in Hollywood.

In response to Lea's tweet about the killing of George Floyd and the Black Lives Matter Movement, Ware called out her co-star in a viral tweet, which read:

"Remember when you made my first television gig a living hell?!?! Cause I'll never forget. I believe you told everyone that if you had the opportunity you would 'sh*t in my wig!'

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Samantha Ware and multiple co-stars called out Lea Michele's problematic on-set behavior

In an interview, Ware revealed that Lea made it "very evident" that she didn't like her and it all started after Samantha gave her first performance.

The 30-year-old added that Lea would give her "silent treatment, the stare-downs, the looks." She also said that the latter would make comments under her breath and was weirdly passive aggressive, which was all "built up.”

Ware said that she did not make an official complaint against the Same Time Next Christmas star as she didn't know filing a complaint was even an option. She shared:

“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.”

After Ware's controversial and viral tweet against Lea Michele, other co-stars mustered the courage to let their thoughts be known.

Heather Morris, who played a queer cheerleader in the popular musical drama series, called Lea "unpleasant to work with." She tweeted that Lea Michele treated people with disrespect for a long time and that "she should be called out."

Another Glee star, Amber Riley, broke her silence in an interview and said that she cannot say that Michele is a racist but added that a lot of black actors confided in her. She said that in her inbox, these actors had revealed that they were "being terrorized by the white girls that are the leads of the show."

Late actor Naya Rivera also expressed that Lea Michele "didn't like sharing the spotlight." The star, who passed away in 2020, had said that it seemed like Lea blamed her for anything and everything that went wrong.

She explained:

"If I'd complained about anyone or anything, she'd assumed I was [expletive] about her. Soon, she started to ignore me, and eventually it got to the point where she didn't say a word to me for all of Season 6."

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Soon after Ware's tweet went viral and garnered support and boost from other actors and production members, Lea Michele released a statement. In it, she claimed that she didn't recall making any statements or judging "others by their background or color of their skin."

However, the 35-year-old admitted that she is aware that her words have hurt people's sentiments. She added:

"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."

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Gerard Canonico, who starred in the musical Spring Awakening, also commented on Michele's apology post.

He called her a "nightmare" for himself and all the understudy cast members. The singer and actor asked Lea Michele to apologize sincerely, instead of just placing the blame on how others "perceived" her.