The Lea Michele example I gave yesterday prompted this post for me.
I don’t know the extent to how she treated her Glee costars. And maybe that’s wrong of me for not seeking out more info and educating myself more deeply on it all.
I think part of the reason why I’m partially in the dark to many details is because I almost want to stay in the dark. I want to like her.
Her public-facing vibe comes off great (to me, at least). Love her talent. Adore how ambitious she is, and how many dreams she has and how she goes after them. I am inclined to like her. Therefore, I shy away from things that would potentially make me not like her… And I gravitate to things I think would make her more likable.
For instance, I think she really is handling the whole ‘Lea Michele doesn’t know how to read thing’ pretty poorly. I think if she doesn’t know how to read, the best response would be to be a face of adult literacy (and learn). The second best would be to quickly learn, never letting the rest of us be the wiser.
I think if she does know how to read, the best best response would be to be in on the joke. Like the completely blank tweet I saw from an account acting as her. It’s funny – the idea that she just puts something completely blank out, since she ‘can’t read’.
That’s a fun way to ingratiate yourself with people, and laugh at yourself. And just generally be ‘in on the joke’/more likable.
It also lets the joke continue – if her worry is that shutting down the rumors will take her out of the zeitgeist.
If she absolutely doesn’t want to do that, and doesn’t care about the joke continuing, then she should shut down the rumors categorically. Instead, she tiptoes around it, basically saying she can, but in the weirdest ways.
So, when I saw the tweet ‘poking fun at herself’, in that moment, without as much critical thought as I should’ve had (not seeing a blue check), I thought, “oh, how wonderful she’s learning to poke fun at herself.” Because I want to like her! I want to see the best in her! I am rooting for her redemption arc!
But when her announcement came out that she couldn’t perform due to Covid, people who already hate her hated the wording. Because they already hate her, so they’re looking in that lens.
I guess I just think it’s interesting that not only do we all see the world from our own lenses. We have lenses for specific people.
And as I’ve been thinking about lately, as weird as it is to think… It seems facts completely on their own without context & thought, don’t equal the full truth. The world is complex and we may have all the same facts but still believe in a different ‘truth’.
We may have all seen her announcement. Yet, people thought about it differently. Whether it was an unfortunate circumstance, or a ‘karmic justice to a selfish person’ was based, in large part, on how they felt about her.