Lea Michele

[dragonflie]

Wow... that "interpretive dance" is like the epitome of white privileged "caring" or action that makes me want to throw shit.

Thanks Heather- that dance really helped solve a lot of problems, and wasn't offensive, triggering, or racist itself- at all :/ Clearly this expert in race relations knows who is/isn't racist- so I trust what she says about Lea.

[Binky]

Heather Morris's defense of "she's an asshole to everyone" is all the more damning. I instantly believe that she's probably a greater asshole to those with less privilege.

[Ginger]

Mar 14, 2005 2:10:14 GMT -4 dragonflie said:

Wow... that "interpretive dance" is like the epitome of white privileged "caring" or action that makes me want to throw shit.

Thanks Heather- that dance really helped solve a lot of problems, and wasn't offensive, triggering, or racist itself- at all

I think her caption said that the dance was to honor him. She's a professional dancer and that's her art, and I'm ok with artists honoring people that way. Gugu Mbatha-Raw posted a video of her painting a portrait of George Floyd (which was really, really good - I didn't know she is a painter).

Contemporary dance often tends to come off as silly, but I don't think that makes it offensive any more than a painting or a poem, and I'm seeing tons of that on my instagram feed right now.

(I also really liked the dance Madonna's son did, I just wish Madonna herself had stayed out of it.)

[Ladybug]

Mar 13, 2005 12:45:42 GMT -4 Ginger said:

Gugu Mbatha-Raw posted a video of her painting a portrait of George Floyd (which was really, really good - I didn't know she is a painter).

I saw this and I was so impressed with her artistic talent! I also didn't know she was a painter, but she created a beautiful portrait of him.

[sobe]

So Marti Nixon jumped in to decry women being the first thrown under the bus when everyone knows men are worse... and then refused to name the names of any of these men. In summary, white feminist jumps in, doesn’t address (instead deflects from) the actual grievances of POC women she worked with, refuses to follow through with her own demands, begins back pedaling almost immediately. Thanks for your contribution, Marti.

[Wol]

Full disclaimer I should have posted earlier: if you go way back into this thread you'll see I have a lot of personal dirt on Lea from friends and relatives in the theater community in NY, so I'm inclined to dislike her and disproportionately tickled to see people speaking publicly about what has been common knowledge among the theater community for over a decade.

Jun 3, 2020 20:14:45 GMT -4 petitesuite said:

I thought/hoped it was in a 'bratty theater kid who got the tiniest taste of mainstream stardom' kind of way rather than an 'actively, shittily racist' kind of way. Ugh.

Her understudy in the musical "Ragtime" said she was a horror at age 12. She had one hell of a stage mother. When Lea didn't get Maria in the 2009 West Side Story revival her mother called the producers and screamed "Why are you trying to crush my baby's dreams?"

Note not a peep in her defense yet from Jonathan Groff. I would be surprised if Ryan Murphy weighed in. He's too important now, mostly in his own mind.

[Ginger]

Since Marti's not going to tell us, who are the men on Glee who were "worse"? Matthew Morrison? Ryan Murphy himself? His pet Darren Criss? Are Mark Salling and Cory Monteith exempt from this discussion because they are dead?

I think Matthew Morrison's reputation for being somebody most of his colleagues in the Broadway community don't like for various reasons is pretty well known, but not that he treated people horribly on the level that Lea Michele has been known to treat people.

[dragonflie]

Jun 4, 2020 11:00:16 GMT -4 Ginger said:

I think her caption said that the dance was to honor him.

My issue isn't the art of it- my issue is a white woman, in a sense appropriating the pain of the black community, and using it in her art. It doesn't belong to her... I've seen (and spoken to on a personal level) several people of color, and specifically black people, ask us white people to stop posting the videos of George Floyd's murder (other murders as well), to stop posting the videos of lynchings, etc, in the name of awareness. It is not our pain to claim, and share, it is theirs. Several people of color in my community have asked us to all stop because they find it triggering and offensive when white people post/share/create images of black people in pain... and I think that makes sense.

I am not saying no white people can express their pain- I think they should- I think they must. I just think it is disrespectful to express said pain by drawing images, dancing (in moves mimicking the murder), etc that show the pain and suffering of the black community, if you are a white person. In solidarity at a rally/protest, with our black community is one thing... to do it as your own individualized piece of art, and then posting it for others to see- it's not my pain to express in that way. That's why I have no issue what so ever with the other examples you cite: these are all black women/men (save for Madonna- which I also find offensive- you're right Ginger- she should have stayed out of it). Heather, on the other hand... what does that expression do for the community? Who does it help? No one but her. She gets to express herself- which is fine, but not needed or helpful at this time.

as always: all IMHO

Topic:

Jun 4, 2020 13:48:09 GMT -4 Wol said:

When Lea didn't get Maria in the 2009 West Side Story revival her mother called the producers and screamed "Why are you trying to crush my baby's dreams?"

This made me laugh.

[Wol]

Because I am bitchier than I heretofore realized, I would love to see Mr. Gwyneth Paltrow pulled into this PR train wreck. On the flip side, I hope Marti is not referring to Dante Di Loreto, who I knew back in my entertainment days and was a really good guy some 20 years ago, but as we know time and success can change people. Sigh.

[sobe]

Jun 4, 2020 14:01:43 GMT -4 Ginger said:

Since Marti's not going to tell us, who are the men on Glee who were "worse"? Matthew Morrison? Ryan Murphy himself? His pet Darren Criss? Are Mark Salling and Cory Monteith exempt from this discussion because they are dead?

I think Matthew Morrison's reputation for being somebody most of his colleagues in the Broadway community don't like for various reasons is pretty well known, but not that he treated people horribly on the level that Lea Michele has been known to treat people.

Per her backpedaling tweets, she meant that the culture at Glee was one that permitted bad behavior, and she only worked there for one season (part time), and wasn’t referring to any actors set in particular. So she just felt like “whatabout-ing” to cape for a bratty actress.

I wish to clarify an earlier statement I made and deleted because it was poorly phrased. When I said “bad actors” in reference to my work on Glee - I was using the word actor as in “people who took bad actions”. I wasn’t referring to anybody on set specifically.

and

I was on that show for one season, and only part time. By and large the people I met there were wonderful. And the crew was fantastic. But when bullies are allowed to act that way - there is a culture that permits it. That’s all I was saying. Thanks. Stay safe.

Way to take a stand, Marti. Damn, this shit is so annoying.