Two years after Lea Michele was accused of bullying her Glee stars, the disgraced actress has addressed the claims in a new interview.
Speaking to the New York Times in an interview to support her controversial role in Funny Girl, Michele blamed her behaviour on her “work ethic” which is a pretty fkn toxic attitude.
“I have an edge to me. I work really hard. I leave no room for mistakes,” she said.
“That level of perfectionism, or that pressure of perfectionism, left me with a lot of blind spots.”
She added that the pressure of being a child star on Broadway left her in a “semi-robotic state.”
I understand that the acting world is chaotic and competitive as fuck but there’s never any excuse to bully anyone and there’s especially never any excuse for racism.
Back in 2020, Glee actress Samantha Marie Ware was the first to call Michele out, accusing her of “traumatic microaggressions” that made her time on the show “a living hell.”
Ware’s comments opened a floodgate prompting other Glee stars to share their negative experiences with Michele.
Heather Morris posted a statement to Twitter citing that it was “unpleasant” to work with Lea Michele.
“Let me be very clear, Hate is a disease in America that we are trying to cure, so I would never wish for that hate to be spread to anyone else,” she wrote.
“With that said, was she unpleasant to work with? Very much so; for Lea to treat others with the disrespect that she did for as long as she did, I believe she SHOULD be called out.”
— heather (@HeatherMorrisTV) June 3, 2020
Supergirl actress Melissa Benoist, who joined Glee in season 4, also subtly confirmed the rumours that Michele wasn’t a great person to work with by liking social media posts that call her out.
Head here to suss out all those shady tweets that Benoist has liked.
Alex Newell, who portrayed Unique Adams for four seasons, was very vocal on Twitter, as was Amber Riley, who played Mercedes Jones in all six seasons.
In addition to posting multiple GIFs, Newell went on a fan-replying spree When a fan suggested people may be lying about the claims, he replied, “we ain’t got not a damn thing to lie about 6 years later!”
When another follower asked why Newell took a photo with Michele on Broadway, Newell wrote, “She was there I was being polite!! Like I was with anyone that came to see my show! Also I know you’re not talking about the season I wasn’t in… until I had to ask to come back so I could pay my bills… since I was released mid season five… while being a series regular!”
He later added: “I’m gonna say this one time… when my friends goes through something traumatic I also go through it… that’s what friendship is… and if you can’t understand that then you’re part of the problem… and that’s on PERIODT! And I mean that for both sides of this coin!”
I’m gonna say this one time… when my friends goes through something traumatic I also go through it… that’s what friendship is… and if you can’t understand that then you’re part of the problem… and that’s on PERIODT! And I mean that for both sides of this coin!
— Alex Newell (@thealexnewell) June 2, 2020
Meanwhile Riley shared several reaction GIFs, including one of herself sipping the tea.
— Amber Patrice Riley (@MsAmberPRiley) June 2, 2020
— Amber Patrice Riley (@MsAmberPRiley) June 2, 2020
Dabier Snell, who appeared in a 2014 episode of Glee, retweeted Ware’s tweet and responded. “GIRL YOU WOULDNT LET ME SIT AT THE TABLE WITH THE OTHER CAST MEMBERS CAUSE ‘I DIDNT BELONG THERE’ F–K YOU LEA,” he wrote. “I try to bring good vibes and create content for ppl to laugh and enjoy! Seeing her message brought back bad memories of being less than on set of glee. Ain’t goin stand for her being fake like she care.”
GIRL YOU WOULDNT LET ME SIT AT THE TABLE WITH THE OTHER CAST MEMBERS CAUSE “I DIDNT BELONG THERE” FUCK YOU LEA https://t.co/s4NoLdtqRs
— 💎XSET Dabier/Ambussshking💎 (@OfficialDabier) June 2, 2020
At the time, Lea Michele posted a lengthy apology on Instagram, where she explained that her initial tweet about George Floyd was meant to be a “show of support for our friends and neighbours and communities of colour during this really difficult time,” but the responses made her focus on her own behaviour.
“One of the most important lessons of the last few weeks is that we need to take the time to listen and learn about other people’s perspectives and any role we have played or anything we can do to help address the injustices that they face,” she wrote.
After adding that she didn’t remember the specific actions Ware had referenced and that she’s “never judged others by their background or the color of their skin,” she acknowledged, “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 apologise for my behaviour and for any pain which I have caused,” she continued. “We all can grow and change and I have definitely used these past several months to reflect on my own shortcomings.”
Lea Michele has controversially taken over as Fanny Brice on Broadway’s Funny Girl, nabbing the role from Beanie Feldstein.
