Lea Michele’s appearance on “The Kelly Clarkson Show” might have been an attempt at rectifying her tarnished image.
Her heartfelt performance of “Sweet Child O’ Mine” on Wednesday contrasted with her alleged on-set behavior, as claimed by former co-stars.
The former “Glee” star was canceled last year after a slew of now-deleted tweets were posted by former co-star Samantha Ware, who accused her of toxic behavior.
Ware, 30, said Michele, 35, made working on-set a “living hell” and suggested that the actress contributed to “traumatic microaggressions” off-screen, even claiming that Michele threatened her job.
“Lea’s actions were nothing new, so I guess since it was such a common thing, my case didn’t seem like that big of a deal,” Ware told Variety in 2020.
Michele’s re-emergence on Clarkson’s talk show was her first major appearance since the controversy, and she kept the conversation light, chatting about her 14-month-old son, Ever, with guest host Jay Leno, who reminisced about her appearance on “The Tonight Show” years ago when she was just a “child.”
“Now I have a child,” Michele joked in response.
As for her Guns N’ Roses cover, which is featured on her new album “Forever” out Friday, fans took to the comments section to share their opinions of the performance — which were mostly positive.
Commenters said her voice sounded “beautiful” and “gorgeous,” while others chimed in that they were delighted to see her return to the stage to sing after a hiatus.
“I am very happy that she has returned to sing, I missed her voice a lot,” wrote viewer Yazmin Paz.
“Only know her (and) her name through past controversies from cast mates, but this was a beautiful rendition,” commented one viewer. “I hope so much that she learned something from the controversy,” wrote another user, Wendy Brown. “I believe in second chances. She has such talent.”
One couch critic, meanwhile, slammed her rendition as “f–king horrible” via Twitter.
For others, though, it may be difficult to forget some of Michele’s alleged darker past.
Former co-star Heather Morris joined in on the allegations against her, saying the cast was “scared” to report the behavior.
“I know, genuinely, I didn’t feel like it was my place,” Morris, 34, told Entertainment Weekly. “And I don’t know why, because I was a cast member just like everybody else, and we all deserve to feel comfortable on a set.”
Michele apologized in the wake of the accusations and after losing a partnership deal with Hello Fresh, saying she had a “wake up call.”
Now, with her career seemingly back on the upswing, Michele is set to join her former “Spring Awakening” cast mates for a one-night, 15th anniversary revival of the Tony-winning best musical to benefit The Actor’s Fund.
The concert will star original featured players Skylar Astin, Gerard Canonico, Lilli Cooper, Jennifer Damiano, Christine Eastbrook, John Gallagher, Jr., Gideon Glick, Jonathan Groff, Robert Hager, Brian Johnson, Lauren Pritchard, Krysta Rodriguez, Stephen Spinella, Phoebe Strole, Jonny B. Wright and Remy Zaken.
Helmed by the original director, Michael Mayer, the concert will take place on Monday, November 15 at 7 p.m at The Imperial Theatre, 249 West 45th St., the current home of “Ain’t Too Proud – The Life and Times of the Temptations.”
