MISCELLANEOUS: LEA MICHELE’S GRACE

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LEA MICHELE’S GRACE

 

I give that girl so much credit. Actually, I always have, for her incredible talent. But the speech she gave at last night’s Teen Choice Awards was like nothing I’ve ever seen before. I cried my guts out watching her. (I’m pretty sure Mr. X was doing the same, but I was too consumed by my own pain for her to pay attention to his. I don’t see how any viewer could have remained dry-eyed during it.)

For the few of you who may not know what I’m talking about, (anyone?,) here’s the brief story: Lea Michele is the star of the show Glee, whose boyfriend (and co-star) Cory Monteith shockingly died last month at the age of thirty-one. While many people in the same circumstance would be able to pour themselves into work as a refuge, her work is co-starring with her boyfriend (who was also playing her boyfriend) on a TV show in front of millions of people! So the pain has to be compounded. I cannot even imagine what she’s going through. (Nor would I even want to put myself through that torture just thinking about it.)

I think a lot of us, including me, forget just how young she is. She’s only twenty-six, which is way too young to be going through this, especially in the public eye. And every creepy gossipy website and TV show is unfairly reporting on her every move. No one is letting her just grieve, and heal, if that’s even possible.

ap_Glee_ac_130811_16x9_992So last night, on the Teen Choice Awards, Glee won as the “favorite television comedy,” and most of the cast came onstage to accept it, but Lea wasn’t one of them, which was totally understandable. As soon as the assemblage exited the stage, the presenters announced that the “favorite television actress” was Lea Michele. She quickly came out from backstage, (thank goodness they didn’t make her sit in the audience,) looking even skinnier than ever, which I’m sure is attributable to all she’s been through. She was wearing a beautiful pink dress ,though, in what I feel was an attempt to cheer-up the rest of us. (And it did! For me, at least.)

She gave a perfect, heartfelt, classy, caring-for-her-fans speech. (I swear, I can’t stop crying even now, just writing about it.) It was one of the most honest moments I’ve ever witnessed from someone in show business. Or in life, period. I have no idea how she got through it. The pain in her eyes was almost too much to behold. Before this tragedy, I was a fan of just her talent. After seeing her brave speech last night, I’m now a fan of Lea Michele, period.

Mr. X asked why she would choose this forum to say something in public, but it made total sense to me. [Note: he wasn’t putting down that she did this; rather, he was just wondering how she chose the venue.] She knew she had to come out and say something sooner or later, and she probably wanted to do it before the new season of Glee began airing. It was really the perfect opportunity; she had won an award, it was a young audience made up of fans who are probably traumatized by Cory’s death, too, a lot of young people would be watching for whom she could probably make the pain a little easier, and most importantly, she got to honor Cory. This was so much better than going on a talk show, or gossip show, or anything like that; she got to just make a brief speech letting us all know how much she loved the guy, and lauding him for all to see.

And now it’s done. She’s made her first public statement about Cory’s heartbreaking untimely death, which had to be traumatic for her. Now she doesn’t have to say anything more about it until she’s ready. I’m sure there are tons of media people, like Barbara Walters and Anderson Cooper and everybody else in that category, who are clamoring to get an interview with her. And she can do that at her own pace, when she feels up to it.

But for now, she’s given her fans hope that she’ll be okay, and the “when is Lea going to make a public statement about her heartbreak” drama is over, for us all.

Obviously, too many people in the world go through excruciating losses such as Lea’s, but what makes hers unique is the fact of having to bear it out in public. She can’t just go into hiding about it right now, unless she wanted to quit the show, which none of us would want her to do. And she’s going to have to relive it as a storyline on the show, which is something I can’t even fathom. I’m sure all of our hearts will be with her during this incredibly difficult time. I know mine already is.

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