Lea Michele makes 'Funny Girl' debut: Everything she's said about the role, her past controversies

As Lea Michelereturns to Broadway, the actress-singer is opening up about her past and future.

Ahead of her starring role as Fanny Brice in the revival of "Funny Girl," which began Tuesday, Michele spoke to People about taking over the role from Beanie Feldstein after the "Lady Bird" actress left the Broadway production in July.

Michele put to rest any speculation that there’s drama between her and her "Funny Girl" predecessor, adding that it’s "really sad and unfortunate" that people feed into "the excitement of pitting women against each other."

The "Glee" alum, who's been accused of workplace misconduct by former co-stars, also got candid about her past work ethic and addressed a long-running social media rumor that she's illiterate.

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Michele says Feldstein was 'incredible' in 'Funny Girl'

In an interview with People magazine published Sept. 1, Michele gushed about Feldstein's portrayal of Brice, revealing that she reached out to the "Booksmart" actress.

"I saw the show. I wrote her and told her what an incredible job I thought that she did," Michele told the outlet. "I thought she was hilarious and beautiful and so wonderful. This is not an easy role, and she took it on with such bravery."

Feldstein, who was originally slated to perform in "Funny Girl" through Sept. 25, confirmed her early exit from the show in July, citing creative differences as the reason for her bowing out of the production. "Once the production decided to take the show in a different direction, I made the extremely difficult decision to step away sooner than anticipated," she wrote.

But Michele said there's no bad blood between these Broadway belles.

"Everybody just thinks everything is so drama-filled," Michele said. "I also think that people really love the excitement of pitting women against each other, which I think is really sad and unfortunate."

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Michele talks 'intense time of reflection' after workplace misconduct allegations

Michele is also pulling back the curtain on her past experiences working in the entertainment industry, including allegations of workplace misconduct made by former "Glee" co-star Samantha Ware.

In 2020, Ware accused Michele of committing "traumatic microaggressions" against her while filming the Fox musical sitcom. Michele later apologized in an Instagram post.

"Am I calling Lea a racist? No. Does Lea have racist tendencies? I think Lea suffers from a symptom of living in this world in an industry that is tailored to white people,” Ware told Variety in a June 2020 interview.

In a separate interview with The New York Times published Sept. 1, Michele said the allegations “prompted an ‘intense time of reflection’ about her conduct at work.” Michele didn’t go into further detail about the specifics of Ware’s remarks, adding she doesn’t “feel the need to handle things” through the media.

Michele, who got her start on Broadway as a child, also acknowledged that her work ethic can be “intense, sometimes to a fault.”

"I have an edge to me. I work really hard. I leave no room for mistakes," Michele explained. "That level of perfectionism, or that pressure of perfectionism, left me with a lot of blind spots."

Michele said taking a hard look in the mirror following these allegations has prepared her for her upcoming "Funny Girl" run.

“I really understand the importance and value now of being a leader,” Michele said. “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.”

Michele said in an interview with the Associated Press published Sep she was unable to recall any specific incident, but blamed the situation on her privilege and “immaturity."

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Michele addresses illiteracy rumor: 'I knew my lines every single day'

Michele is sounding off about an internet rumor claiming that she doesn’t know how to read.

A social media conspiracy theory that Michele is illiterate emerged after podcasters Jaye Hunt and Robert Ackerman posted a Facebook Live video in 2017 presenting a slideshow that allegedly proved their theory that Michele can’t read or write.

In an appearance on the Jezebel podcast DirtCast in 2018, Hunt and Ackerman said they based the theory on an anecdote from Naya Rivera’s memoir “Sorry Not Sorry,” which recounts Michele's alleged refusal to improvise scenes in “Glee” with actor Tim Conway.

Michele told The New York Times the rumor is “sad” and possibly reflective of sexism.

“I went to ‘Glee’ every single day; I knew my lines every single day,” Michele said. “And then there’s a rumor online that I can’t read or write? ... I think often if I were a man, a lot of this wouldn’t be the case.”

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Contributing: Charles Trepany

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Lea Michele in 'Funny Girl': Her words on casting, illiteracy rumors