Glee star Lea Michele has deactivated her Twitter account after being bullied by people over the disappearance of Naya Rivera.
In June, reports emerged of Michele’s on-set behaviour. Samantha Ware, who starred in the sixth season of Glee, accused her former co-star of making her first TV gig “a living hell”. The accusation triggered a number of stories about Michele’s “diva” antics on set, as well as her past fallout with Rivera. In Rivera’s memoir, Sorry Not Sorry: Dreams, Mistakes and Growing Up, she wrote the tension between them reached such a point that Michele “didn’t say a word to me for all of season 6.”
Michele has since apologised.
According to one user, @voguesjace, people were telling Michele “it should’ve been you instead of Naya”.
Another user, @cuethxrain, claimed “y’all told her you wished she was dead”.
Lea Michele is almost at full term of her pregnancy, has PCOS, is days away from the anniversary of the death of her boyfriend and y’all told her you wished she was dead or disappeared instead of Naya so much that she deactivated her social media. I hate you all so much.
— Black Lives Matter (@cuethxrain) July 12, 2020
I don’t support Lea Michele’s past behavior at any point, but filling her social media with comments like “it should’ve been you” or “it’s your fault” to the point that she deactivated it’s cruel and gross and you should be ashamed if you left a similar comment.
— David ミ☆ (@IconicNephilim) July 12, 2020
Without explicitly naming Michele, Glee‘s Amber Patrice Riley slammed followers for their bullshit bullying.
“Show some respect,” she tweeted. “All our energy is going toward helping find Naya and praying for her safe return and for her family. No one owes anyone online a performance of grief. This is very real and devastating. Focus on Naya and her family. Not us. We don’t matter right now.”
Show some respect. All our energy is going toward helping find Naya and praying for her safe return and for her family. No one owes anyone online a performance of grief. This is very real and devastating. Focus on Naya and her family. Not us. We don’t matter right now.
— Amber Patrice Riley (@MsAmberPRiley) July 12, 2020
Fellow co-star, Kevin McHale, also shared similar thoughts.
He tweeted, “I cannot begin to understand what Naya’s family must be feeling. I know the rest of us are completely shattered, but not without hope. Please respect her family and their privacy in this moment.
“Please refrain from judging those who don’t show their pain on social media,” he said.
I cannot begin to understand what Naya’s family must be feeling. I know the rest of us are completely shattered, but not without hope. Please respect her family & their privacy in this moment. Please refrain from judging those who don’t show their pain on social media. ♥️ https://t.co/DXsUj3qdCh
— Kevin McHale (@druidDUDE) July 12, 2020
The search for Rivera, who disappeared on July 8, is ongoing after her four-year-old son was found alone on a boat she rented during an outing on Lake Piru. The Ventura Country Sheriff has been providing frequent updates on Twitter.
