We were just sent Lea Michele’s cover shoot & interview excerpts for the November issue of Marie Claire UK. Oh. My. God. This chick is… crazy. I mean… I feel like a total bitch for criticizing her whenever I write about her, but my God, she really, really needs to take it down a notch. Just to do full-disclosure – I read about Lea’s diva antics before I even saw Glee. I still haven’t ever seen a full episode, but I get it. I get why people like the show. I get that Lea was typecast as the anal retentive tight-ass diva, probably because that’s who she is in real life. And I really believe that as Glee continues to succeed, it’s just going to get worse.

Okay – the Marie Claire slideshow is here, with some interview excepts. Here is what I’ve pulled out, and we’ll discuss this once you’re done. Take notes!

Lea on the pre-Glee days: ‘I was told by agents and casting directors I wasn’t right for TV,’ the self confessed Gleek says of her early days in the industry. ‘I didn’t feel that but I was told it and you believe it. I was always working on Broadway and auditioning for TV – things like Law & Order – but there was never anything’.

Lea is not a party girl: This gorgeous glee girl’s all grown up. But far from falling out of night clubs, there are no wild night’s out for the star. ‘These days I have one glass of wine and I’m completely gone,’ she says, sizzling in a Marchesa jacket and eye watering Givenchy heels. ‘I’ve never been a “Lets go out and have a cosmopolitan” kind of girl. I don’t even think I’ve ever tasted a cosmopolitan before.’ In fact, she’s actually oh-so-grounded. ‘This show would be a huge pressure on someone who wanted to rebel and who want to party, but I don’t have those needs or wants,’ she says. ‘I don’t smoke and I don’t do drugs,’ she says. ‘This show would be a huge pressure on someone who wanted to rebel and who wants to party, but I don’t have those needs or wants.’

Lea on her own beauty: Lea got glam in dazzling D&G as she posed for the snappers, stepping into some simple Louboutin heels to finish the look. And she definitely shone for the cameras. ‘Glee has made me feel beautiful. Now when people say that I don’t feel like they’re lying. Glee has shown me that I am beautiful, that I can be beautiful no matter what I look like, what my weight it is. I grew up in a community where what I looked like wasn’t considered beautiful and then I work on this show that proves it doesn’t matter what you look like, that you’re beautiful and that beauty is on the inside… so, yeah, I’m thankful.’

Lea on her tattoos: And her secret vice? Tattoos. She has nine, each chronicling a significant milestone in her life. ‘They’re all tiny. I mean, you saw me in the shoot today, I was practically nude. Did you see any? No. I’m telling you, I have nine. All so, so, so little.’

Lea on how great Glee is: As a self-confessed Gleek, Lea’s Glee’s number one fan. ‘What I love about our show is that it opens your eyes to a lot of things without being preachy,’ she says.

Lea on how her teachers were jealous of her: But despite her early break, she went relatively unnoticed at school. ‘My acting teacher and music teachers didn’t really like me and they kind of ignored me. I think that they were threatened by the fact that I had worked before. Maybe it made them feel uncomfortable. I would have loved for them to have taught me but maybe they felt like they couldn’t. They just ignored me and didn’t really pay attention to me.’ When asked how that made her feel, Lea says: ’Like they were stupid, that it was pretty silly of them. I’m on a show called Glee right now and I could sing their praises, but unfortunately I don’t have anything to say.’

Lea on how she’s not a diva: Despite Glee’s international success, Lea’s no diva. ‘I feel very equal to my cast and I feel like I couldn’t do what I do without them,’ she says.

[From Marie Claire UK]

The two parts that immediately jumped out at me and had me rolling my eyes were the “I’m so gorgeous” part and the “my teachers were totally jealous of me” part. For goodness sake! Yes, the girl is cute, and yes, she’s got a great voice. But she really thinks she’s the second coming of Barbra Streisand, doesn’t she? And while I think it’s great that a young star – with her first blush of international stardom – is still level-headed and confident, Lea’s blowing “confident” out of the water. She’s treading into some very narcissistic waters, and a little humility never hurt anyone. Especially considering that while Glee is popular right now, I personally don’t think it’s going to still be on the air in two years. And yes, more people are probably tuning into NCIS, like me. Just my opinion. As for her teachers and how they were too jealous to teach her anything – get off the cross, Lea, people need the wood. It probably never occurred to her that perhaps her teachers saw her as an anal-retentive narcissist who would never deign to take their advice anyway.

Photos courtesy of Marie Claire UK.