Trending badgeTrendingPosted 54 minutes agoSubscribe to BuzzFeed Daily NewsletterCaret Down"She Was Terrifying": 8 Times Actors And Production Members Were Called Out By People From The Theater IndustryIn a since-deleted tweet, Lea Michele's former understudy reportedly tweeted, "I used to cry every night from the mean and manipulative things she would do."by Kristen HarrisBuzzFeed StaffFacebookPinterestLink While some costars reach Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo levels of friendship, others absolutely loathe working with each other. These kinds of behind-the-scenes feuds aren't limited to behind the screen. Here are 8 times actor called out their theater costars, production members, and peers: 1. In 2016, Laura Benanti costarred with Zachary Levi in a Broadway run of She Loves Me. In 2024, she told That's a Gay Ass Podcast, "I never liked him. Everyone was like, 'He's so great!' And I was like, 'No, he's not. He's sucking up all the fucking energy in this room.'" Jenny Anderson / Getty Images / Via Getty She added that he tried "to mansplain everybody's part to them" and kept trying to host dance parties.
She said, "He really sucked everybody in with his dance party energy, like, 'We're doing a dance party at half-hour.' I was like, 'Good luck, have fun.'"She also called Zachary out for his Instagram Live where he implied that their fellow costar Gavin Creel died as a result of the COVID-19 vaccine.
Laura said, "For him to use Gavin's memory - a person he was not friends with - to use his memory for his political agenda and to watch him try to make himself cry until he had one single tear, which he did not wipe away, I was like, 'Fuck you forever.'" 2. In 2024, Sarah Paulson told the Smartless podcast, "The last time I was on stage, I did a play called Talley's Folly at the Roundabout and the actress - and I'm going to say this, and I'm not going to ask you to cut this out, because I don't fucking care - this actress came to the play. Her name is Trish Hawkins - Hi, Trish! Hi, Trisha! - Trish Hawkins came to the play. Am I going to get sued? I don't care because I think this is outrageous...[Backstage] she looked at me up and down, and then she went, 'Your dress is yellow. Mine was pink.' And I thought, 'What?'" Steve Granitz / Getty Images / Via Getty, Bettmann / Getty Images Trish originated the role of Sally Talley - the part Sarah was playing - in the 1979 off-Broadway debut of Talley's Folley.
Sarah continued, "[A few days later] I got an email that was six pages long of notes and a communication to me about what she had done when she had done the play, what she recommended I do. It was outrageous. It was really outrageous...
Trish Hawkins, I have not forgotten it, and I hope to see you never." 3. Kecia Lewis currently stars in Hell's Kitchen, which shares a wall with the current production of The Roommate featuring Patti LuPone. In a 2024 Instagram post, Kecia shared an "open letter" to Patti. She said, "Ms. LuPone, I understand that there have been a couple of situations that have gone on in the last few weeks that I want to address. The first one is that you contacted our theater owner about changing a couple of our sound cues because you found them to be too loud. You also, after our sound design was adjusted, sent flowers to our sound and stage management team thanking them. Another thing that I'm aware of is that you dismissed publicly signing a fan's Hell's Kitchen playbill because...'they're too loud.'" Jason Mendez / Getty Images, Gilbert Flores / Getty Images Kecia continued, "I wanted to address this because, Ms. LuPone, these actions, in my opinion, are bullying. They're offensive. They're racially microaggressive. They're rude. They're rooted in privilege, and these actions also lack a sense of community and leadership for someone, as yourself, who has been in the business as long as you have."She explained that racial microaggressions are "subtle, unintentional comments or actions that convey stereotypes, biases or negative assumptions about someone based on their race."She said, "In our industry, language holds power and shapes perception, often in ways that we may not immediately realize. Referring to a predominantly Black Broadway show as 'loud' can unintentionally reinforce harmful stereotypes, and it also feels dismissive of the artistry and the voices that are being celebrated on stage....
On Broadway, we are not just neighbors, Ms. LuPone, we're a community that shares in each other's artistry and challenges. Respect and collaboration are what keep us thriving and inspire the next generation."You can watch her full video here. 4. Lea Michele originated the role of the Little Girl in Ragtime in Toronto in 1996 then played the role on Broadway in 1997. In a since-deleted 2020 tweet, her understudy, Elizabeth Aldrich, reportedly said, "She was absolutely awful to me and ensemble." Roy Rochlin / Getty Images "She demeaned the crew and threatened to have people fired if she was in anyway d