Mean girl no more?
Lea Michele, who has a reputation for being a diva, is going out of her way to be extra sweet behind the scenes of Broadway’s “Funny Girl,” says a source, telling us, “She’s being so nice, she makes Julie Andrews look like a bitch.”
Michele, who is stepping into the role of Fanny Brice following Beanie Feldstein and Julie Benko, faced public allegations of “traumatic microaggressions” from former “Glee” castmate Samantha Ware. Another castmate, Heather Morris, also publicly stated Michele was “unpleasant to work with.” And late “Glee” star Naya Rivera also documented her issues by saying Michele “didn’t like sharing the spotlight.”
But it seems that Michele, who debuts in the show Sept. 6, is working off a new script.
“She is being soooo nice, it’s crazy,” says a source. “She knows everyone’s name and their birthdays.”
The source jokes of Michele’s over-the-top kindness, “She is watering the plants in [castmates’] dressing rooms kind of nice. It’s an expression, a joke. She’s not actually doing it … yet.”
Michele recently told the New York Times of her past reputation that after an “intense time of reflection,” she is now is able to “really understand the importance and value now of being a leader. It means not only going and doing a good job when the camera’s rolling, but also when it’s not. And that wasn’t always the most important thing for me.”
She also admitted, “I have an edge to me. I work really hard. I leave no room for mistakes. That level of perfectionism, or that pressure of perfectionism, left me with a lot of blind spots.”
Feldstein left the show in a shock exit in July after poor reviews. “It’s not that Beanie is untalented,” a source told us at the time. “It’s not her fault. She was poorly cast.”
