EDGE Rewind: Watch: Twitter Rains On Lea Michele's Opening to Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade
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Lea Michele's Broadway triumph of replacing Beanie Feldstein in "Funny Girl" led to her starting off the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade with a performance in front of the store's Herald Square location in New York City. Of course, singing the show's first act showstopper "Don't Rain on my Parade" is a letter-perfect way to open the annual parade, especially with the weather cooperating. But as the website "We've Got This Covered" headlined, "Lea Michele may have just become Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade's most controversial opening act."
"Michele was irreproachable as always, which attracted a tide of mixed feelings from people watching at home. The actress' past controversies regarding her diva behavior on the set of 'Glee,' and accusations of racism by co-stars, kept people from freely enjoying her performance, despite how perfect it was."
One tweet best expressed the ambivalence of watching Michele nail the song. Using a screenshot from "Glee" of Chris Colfer's character Kurt Hummel, user kt the holiday queen
(@katiekins93) captured the sentiment: "She may be difficult, but, boy, can she sing."
Others marveled at the "art imitating life" with how Michele is living out her longtime dream of playing Fanny Brice in the musical, for which her career until now has been a prolonged audition.
Others joked that Michele is the only person ever to look happy about being there.
But the memes that have plagued her, including a popular one that she can't read, were grist for the Twitter mill.
Some were delighted, led by Broadway star Betty Buckley:
But others were harsh:
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