Lea Michele is criticised for appearing to obscure Sadie Sink, but could there be an innocent explanation?

Stealing the limelight must be an oft-complained scenario in the world of acting. Egos abound on any TV, film or stage production.

Lea Michele, the former star of Glee, has been called out on social media; many are saying she purposefully obscures the actress, Sadie Sink, when they both appeared on The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon, and then takes her spot in the middle of the guests.

What exactly happened?

When the two actors appeared on the late night show earlier in January, they participated in a game of charades. For the segment, Michele was on the same team as The Tonight Show’s singer, Tariq Trotter, and Sink was on the same team as Jimmy Fallon.

Fallon introduces Stranger Things actress Sink to the stage first, and then went on to welcome Michele. When Michele walked onto the stage, she waved to the audience and briefly tapped Sink’s arm. Michele then reached across the actor and Trotter to shake Fallon’s hand.

She then stepped in front of Sink to approach Trotter and shake his hand. Once Michele let go of his arm, she continued to stand in between Sink and Trotter.

It isn’t clear where Michele was supposed to be standing when she walked onto the stage, but that hasn't stopped fans accusing Michele of taking Sink’s spot in the centre.

On TikTok, one fan, who goes by the username @dracosweeney, shared a clip of Michele’s introduction and questioned her gesture towards Sink. "Why did she move Sadie out of the way like that," the text over the video reads. "She literally took her spot." In the caption, the TikTok user also claimed that Michele “barely said hi” to Sink.

A TikTok user, who goes by the username @bricooper.mezzosoprano, also shared the clip from the show and praised Sink for how she reacted when Michele stepped in front of her. "Did anyone else catch this move?" the text over the video read. "Sadie was very humble and politely countered."

Other TikTok users say that Michele was probably told by producers to stand where she did, and she wasn't doing this to upstage Sink.

"[There’s] a 99 per cent chance [she was] told to stand there by the producers," one wrote.

"I’m not a fan but they just introduced Lea so shouldn’t she naturally be [in the] centre for this time," another added.

In June 2020, actress Samantha Marie Ware accused Michele of bullying her and causing "traumatic micro-aggressions" while they worked together on the sixth season of Glee. Other actors, including former Glee co-stars Heather Morris, Alex Newell, and Amber Riley, among others, agreed that Michele had been hostile and rude to others on set, and had had a prima donna attitude.

Michele responded with an apology, noting that the comments from numerous cast members in response to Ware's accusation had made her aware that her general treatment of all cast members during those years was "insensitive or inappropriate", a sign of "immaturity", and that she was "unnecessarily difficult" toward others around her, and she would "keep working to better myself and take responsibility for my actions."