Lea Michele, star of the musical television show “Glee,” is finally responding to statements from past cast members that she was a “diva” on set and difficult to work with.
Following Lea Michele’s public statements condemning the killing of George Floyd at the hands of law enforcement as well as supporting the Black Lives Matter movement, a former cast member, Samantha Ware, Tweeted, “LMAO REMEMBER WHEN YOU MADE MY FIRST TELEVISION GIG A LIVING HELL?!?! CAUSE ILL NEVER FORGET. I BELIEVE YOU TOLD EVERYONE THAT IF TOU HAD THE OPPORTUNITY YOU WOULD ‘S— IN MY WIG!’ AMONGST OTHER TRAUMATIC MICROAGRESSIONS THAT MADE ME QUESTION A CAREER IN HOLLYWOOD…”
Since Ware spoke out, many former cast mates of Lea Michele spoke to her behavior on set with many speculating that her actions may have been racially motivated.
Another former “Glee” cast mate, Heather Morris, who played Brittany S. Pierce also publicly commented on Michele’s behavior on set, stating, “let me be very clear, Hate is a disease in America that we are trying to cure, so I would never wish for hate to be spread to anyone else. With that said, was she unpleasant to work with? Very much so.”
Morris continued, “it’s also on us, because to allow it to go on for so long without speaking out is something else we’re learning along with the rest of society. But, at the current moment its implied that she is a racist, and although I cannot comment on her beliefs, I think we’re assuming, and you know what happens when we all assume…”
A sponsor of Lea Michele, HelloFresh, a meal delivery service, even severed ties with the actress, stating, “HelloFresh does not condone racism nor discrimination of any kind. We are disheartened and disappointed to learn of the recent claims concerning Lea Michele. We take this very seriously, and have ended our partnership with Lea Michele, effective immediately.”
Former “Glee” star, Amber Riley, who played Mercedes Jones, did not publicly state anything negative regarding her experiences working with Michele, however following the initial controversy she did post a GIF of herself sipping tea to her Twitter account.
Later Riley did an interview on Instagram Live with journalist Danielle Young Thursday, regarding the Black Lives Matter protests where she briefly addressed the controversy around Michele. Riley stated that she was proud of Ware for speaking her truth regarding her experiences.
Riley also stated about Michele, “I’m not going to say that Lea Michele is racist. That’s not what I’m saying,” she said. “That was the assumption because of what’s going on right now in the world and it happened toward a black person. I’m not going to say that she’s racist.” She continued, “she’s also pregnant and I think that everybody needs to kind of chill. Y’all have dragged her for a couple of days.”
Following this mass backlash, Michele released an apology, stating, “while I don’t remember ever making this specific statement and I have never judged others by their background or color of their skin, that’s not really the point. What matters is that I clearly acted in ways which hurt other people.
“Whether it was my privileged position and perspective that caused me to be perceived as insensitive or inappropriate at times or whether it was just my immaturity and me just being unnecessarily difficult, I apologize for my behavior and for any pain which I have caused. We all can grow and change and I have definitely used these past several months to reflect on my own shortcomings.
“I am a couple of months from becoming a mother, and I know I need to keep working to better myself and take responsibility for my actions, so that I can be a real role model for my child and so I can pass along my lessons and mistakes, so that they can learn from me. I listened to these criticisms and I am learning and while I am very sorry, I will be better in the future from this experience.”
Photo Source: Yahoo News
