Lea Michele hasn’t been heard from much since Fox’s Glee went off the air in 2015, which is probably for the best, based on accusations made by co-star Samantha Ware. In response to Michele, who played Rachel on the hit musical series, tweeting, “George Floyd did not deserve this. This was not an isolated incident and it must end. #BlackLivesMatter,” Ware (Jane) quote-tweeted her and wrote, “LMAO REMEMBER WHEN YOU MADE MY FIRST TELEVISON GIG A LIVING HELL?!?! CAUSE ILL NEVER FORGET. I BELIEVE YOU TOLD EVERYONE THAT IF TOU HAD THE OPPORTUNITY YOU WOULD “SHIT IN MY WIG!” AMONGST OTHER TRAUMATIC MICROAGRESSIONS THAT MADE ME QUESTION A CAREER IN HOLLYWOOD…”
https://twitter.com/Sammie_Ware/status/1267632171570745345
Other Glee stars have since sided with Ware, with Heather Morris (Brittany) tweeting, “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,” while Dabier Snell (who appeared in one episode in 2014) wrote in all-caps, “GIRL YOU WOULDNT LET ME SIT AT THE TABLE WITH THE OTHER CAST MEMBERS CAUSE “I DIDNT BELONG THERE” FUCK YOU LEA.” Yvette Nicole Brown, who worked with Michele on ABC’s short-lived sitcom The Mayor, also responded to Ware’s original tweet, writing, “I felt every one of those capital letters.”
And this, from her Spring Awakening co-star Gerard Canonico:
“You were nothing but a nightmare to me and fellow understudy cast members,” Canonico, 30, commented on Michele’s post on Wednesday, June 3. “You made us feel like we didn’t belong there. I tried for years to be nice to you to no avail. Maybe actually apologize instead of placing the blame on how others ‘perceive’ you. You’ll probably just delete this though.”
Michele issued a statement on Wednesday apologizing for how her “behavior towards fellow cast members was perceived by them,” and that it was maybe her “privileged position and perspective that caused me to be perceived as insensitive or inappropriate at times,” which is to say, she barely apologized. Ware’s response: open your purse.
https://twitter.com/Sammie_Ware/status/1268241676402745344
It was Amber Riley (Mercedes), the highest-billed person of color in the Glee cast, who had the best response, however.
Amber Riley weighs in on Lea Michele controversy: 'I don't give a s—. People are out here dying' https://t.co/UINJHQ4iSt
— Entertainment Weekly (@EW) June 4, 2020
(Via Variety)