Jane Lynch on Leaving Funny Girl, Reacts to Lea Michele Joining

Jane Lynch won't be acting alongside Lea Michele when Michele replaces Beanie Feldstein in the Broadway show “Funny Girl.”

Michele, who is Lynch's former "Glee" co-star, is set to take the stage as Fannie Brice on Sept. 6. Lynch is being replaced by Tovah Feldshuh as Mrs. Brice and won't be performing alongside Michele, but she told Deadline that she’s “glad” that Michele will get the chance to star in the Broadway show.

Michele played Rachel Berry in “Glee,” who performed songs from "Funny Girl" in the show. Now, that fictional dream is becoming reality, and Lynch will be rooting her on from afar.

"I adore her. She’s just going to take this show and make it her own," Lynch told Deadline. "I’m so glad she’s getting the opportunity in real life to do the show and not just on 'Glee.'"

As for Lynch's departure from "Funny Girl," she said that there's a reason why she and Michele won't be performing together.

“We have been in touch about it,” she said of Michele. “You know, it was just a really strong idea to have Feldshuh and Lea premiere together. That’s the only reason [we won’t appear together.]"

In April, Feldstein made her "Funny Girl" debut and was expected to keep her role through 2022. But in June, the show announced that she and Lynch will be departing in September. However, that changed in July when Feldstein announced that she'll be leaving even earlier than expected, near the end of July.

On Instagram, she told her fans that she wanted to bow out "once production decided to take the show in a different direction."

"I made the extremely difficult decision to step away sooner than anticipated. I will never forget this experience and from the bottom of my heart, I want to thank every single person who came to the August Wilson for the love and support you have shown me and our amazing cast and crew."

After it was revealed that Michele will replace Feldstein in "Funny Girl" and Lynch was departing the production, "Glee" fans took to social media to share their thoughts, some of which were reminiscent of when Michele was called out by former “Glee” co-star Samantha Marie Ware in 2020 for making her life “a living hell” on set.

Although Michele later apologized, fans seemed to continue to make fun of the “toxic” work environment that Michele could bring to the Broadway show.

Regardless of the response on social media, Michele took to Instagram to express her joy following the announcement.

"A dream come true is an understatement," she said. "I’m so incredibly honored to join this amazing cast and production and return to the stage playing Fanny Brice on Broadway. See you September 6th."