From now on, the history of American pop culture will be divided into two parts: before Lea Michele joined Broadway’s Funny Girl revival, and after. On Monday, the Broadway production announced that the former Gleek would be replacing Beanie Feldstein as Fanny Brice, sending Twitter into a flurry of Glee memes and hot shots. Lea Michele has been campaigning to star in Funny Girl for years, ever since she sang “Don’t Rain on My Parade” on the season one finale of Glee in 2009. Her character on the show, Rachel Berry, even ended up starring in a Broadway revival of the musical, and when Michelle posted the casting announcement on Instagram, she wrote: “A dream come true is an understatement.” But Michele’s inevitable casting quickly divided the Internet into camps: those who love it, those who love a good meme, and those who see it as yet more proof that cancellation culture is a myth. When it was first announced that Feldstein would be playing Fanny Brice on Broadway, Lea Michele trended on Twitter as people imagined her jealousy at losing out on the role. Now, just a few months later, Feldstein announced on Sunday that she would be leaving the Funny Girl revival ahead of schedule, writing on Instagram that “production has decided to take the show in a different direction.” And less than 24 hours later, Michele landed the gig. Drama. Not only that, but Feldstein’s co-star Jane Lynch, who famously played Coach Sue Sylvester on Glee alongside Michele for six seasons, also announced that she would be leaving the show a day before Michele debuted on September 6 and not at the end of the month, as previously announced. It really is an episode of Glee come to life. Jane Lynch leaves Funny Girl the day Lea Michele joins to buy tickets and leave halfway pic.twitter.com/OFp4PEliry — ski (@shyingflutters) July 11, 2022 Jane Lynch leaving the day Lea Michele starts is the most reprehensible behavior of the Sylvester icon I’ve witnessed — Kyleigh (@KyleighMM_) July 11, 2022 As for those who don’t care about Michele or the drama, it’s just here for the jokes. “Lea Michele made a deal with the devil so she could be in Funny Girl on Broadway… She’s like Ariel, but instead of trading her voice, she traded the ability to read,” tweeted @freyabwg. (Who remembers the “Lea Michele can’t read” conspiracy theory from 2018?) Lea Michele made a deal with the devil so she could be in funny girl on broadway… she’s like ariel but instead of trading her voice she traded the ability to read — freya (@freyabwg) July 11, 2022 congrats to Lea Michele pic.twitter.com/hsb07zvyvW — Gabe Bergado (@gabebergado) July 11, 2022 Lea Michele makes her first Funny Girl appearance pic.twitter.com/Q5oFxHulQz — Sam Stryker (@sbstryker) July 11, 2022 Liza Minnelli has surpassed Lea Michele’s unfulfilled dream of playing Fanny Brice in “Funny Girl.” The “Glee” star, who was notoriously lost to begin with, will finally get her chance in the Broadway revival this September. — LizaMinnelliOutlives (@LiZaOutlives) July 11, 2022 ATTENTION everyone: Lea Michele just got her wish, an event that will throw our universe into irrevocable chaos. Airplanes will fall from the sky. The birds will go blind. The dead will rise. Hug your loved ones and make peace with God while you can – Tom Zohar (@omTomZohar) July 11, 2022 Meanwhile, others expressed their disappointment that Michele appears to have escaped unscathed from reports of toxic behavior on set. In 2020, some of Michele’s Glee co-stars spoke out about alleged abusive behavior they suffered on the set of the musical show. Samantha Ware, who appeared in the final season, accused Michele of making “my first TV gig a living hell” on Twitter. “I think you told everyone that if you had the chance, you would ‘pop in my wig!’ among other traumatic microaggressions that made me question a career in Hollywood.” Michele apologized at the time, saying that while she had no recollection of those comments, “I clearly acted in ways that hurt other people.” Heather Morris, who also starred on Glee, admitted that Michele was “unpleasant to work with”. Michele was also summoned by Gerard Canonico, who worked with her as a researcher in Spring Awakening. Michele has kept a low profile following the spate of allegations of toxic behavior, only recently returning to the spotlight to celebrate the anniversary of Spring Awakening. Now some are clamoring for her return to Broadway and wondering if she has actually changed. About an hour after Michele’s casting was announced, Ware expressed her hurt and outrage at the situation, tweeting, “Yes, I’m online today. Yes, I see it all. Yes, I care. Yes, I am affected. Yes, I’m human. Yes, I’m black. Yes, I was abused. Yes, my dreams were tainted. Yes, Broadway supports whiteness. Yes, Hollywood does the same. Yes, silence is complicity. Yes, I am strong. Yes, I would do it again.” Yes, I’m online today. Yes, I see it all. Yes, I care. Yes, I am affected. Yes, I’m human. Yes, I’m black. Yes, I was abused. Yes, my dreams were tainted. Yes, Broadway supports whiteness. Yes, Hollywood does the same. Yes, silence is complicity. Yes, I am strong. Yes, I would do it again. — SAMEYA (@Sammie_Ware) July 11, 2022 lea michele here proving you can get undone on twitter dot com and achieve your dreams. iconique and brave white woman! — Carrie Wittmer 🦇 (@carriesnotscary) July 11, 2022 funny girl producers after deciding to go with Lea Michele pic.twitter.com/mHMSh7ihgp — m (@bigIttIeIies) July 11, 2022
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