At the sporting event, the 'Funny Girl' actress is seen sitting behind the comedian, who previously discussed her racism scandal in a viral interview with Lea's former 'Glee' co-star Amber Riley.
- Sep 12, 2023
AceShowbiz - Lea Michele and Ziwe Fumudoh appeared to have an awkward encounter at the U.S. Open Men's Final on Sunday, September 10. At the sporting event, the "Funny Girl" actress was seen sitting behind the comedian, who previously discussed the former's racism scandal in a viral interview.
In pictures circulating online, Lea was seen watching the Novak Djokovic and Daniil Medvedev face-off at Flushing Meadows with her husband Zandy Reich. The "Glee" star donned an all-black ensemble, while her partner opted for a white T-shirt and black pants.
Sitting awkwardly right in front of the couple was Ziwe, who wore a bright yellow tweed jacket. She enjoyed the game alongside her friend, supermodel Emily Ratajkowski.
The positioning raised people's eyebrows given Ziwe's December 2022 interview with Lea's former "Glee" co-star Amber Riley. In the interview, Ziwe grilled Amber about the racism allegations by fellow "Glee" alum Samantha Ware against Lea.
At the time, Amber was among the stars who spoke out about the accusations. "I'm not going to say that Lea Michele is racist. That's not what I'm saying," she said on an Instagram Live chat. "But at the same time, in my inbox there are a lot of black actors and actresses telling me their stories, and were letting me know they have dealt with the same things being on set, being terrorized by the white girls that are the leads of the show."
Of her statement, Ziwe asked Amber in the awkward interview, "You said that one of your famous co-workers wasn't racist, did you mean that she was?" Amber nervously laughed and replied, "I don't know which co-worker you're talking about, I've had so many."
"Would you say that your famous co-worker doesn't see race and is, in fact, rude to all of her coworkers?" Ziwe continued to press Amber, who eventually said of Michele, "I think that she would probably say she doesn't see race. But as we discussed earlier, everyone does."
The racism accusations leveled at Lea first emerged in 2020 after the actress spoke out in support of the Black Lives Matter movement, which stemmed from George Floyd's murder. Samantha, who once appeared on "Glee", responded to Lea's statement in a post on Twitter, now X, "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 's**t in my wig!' amongst other traumatic microaggressions that made me question a career in Hollywood."
Heather Morris, who played Brittany Pierce on the hit teen series, echoed the sentiment. "With that said, was she unpleasant to work with? Very much so; for Lea to treat others with the disrespect that she did for as long as she did, I believe she SHOULD be called out," the dancer
wrote.
In response to the accusations, Lea issued an apology for "any pain" she may have caused. She also emphasized that she's "never judged others by their background or color of their skin."
In an interview with New York Times, the actress appeared to blame her past problematic behavior on her ferocious work ethic. "I have an edge to me. I work really hard. I leave no room for mistakes," she explained in 2022. "That level of perfectionism, or that pressure of perfectionism, left me with a lot of blind spots."
