Samantha Ware Claims Lea Michele Made 'Glee' A Living Hell
It has been five years since the show Glee ended, but tension between cast members have resurfaced once again after actress Samantha Ware accused show lead Lea Michele of making her time on the show “a living hell.”
Variety reports that Ware brought up the “traumatic microagressions” she suffered from Michele when Michele tweeted about George Floyd and the Black Lives Matter movement. After Michele tweeted that Floyd did not deserve what happened to him, Ware retweeted the tweet and revealed what happened during her time on the show.
According to Ware, she would never forget how Michele made her time on the show unbearable. Ware says that Michele constantly threatened to “s--t in her wig amongst other traumatic microaggressions.” The abuse was so bad that Ware questioned whether she should continue her entertainment career.
Ware appeared in the sixth season of Glee as the character Jane Hayward and was in 11 of the season’s episodes. She has since then appeared on God Friended Me, Chicago Med, and What/If.
Michele, meanwhile, won an Emmy and earned two Golden Globe nominations for her lead role as Rachel Berry on the show. Aside from pursuing a singing career, Michele also appeared on The Mayor and Scream Queens.
After Ware’s revelation, TV Line also noted that Ware’s former co-stars seemed to support her allegation. Alex Newell, who appeared on Seasons Three to Six, replied with a RuPaul gif to Ware’s tweet. Amber Riley, who appeared in all six seasons, also replied with a tweet of herself.
Michele’s behavior on set was also something that was brought even before Ware’s tweet. Naya Rivera, another Glee co-star, had alleged in her 2016 memoir Sorry Not Sorry: Dreams, Mistakes and Growing Up that Michele would not talk to her at all during the entirety of the sixth season since Michele assumed Rivera was constantly complaining about her. Rivera said Michele and her are “not the best of friends.”
Ware’s allegation also comes during a racially-charged moment in the United States. Protests sparked all over the country after the death of George Floyd, whose death was caught on video. His death was caused by Derek Chauvin, who had his knee on Floyd’s neck when he was arresting him.
Floyd’s death has resulted in protests in more than 300 cities in the United States, including Louisville, Kentucky; Boise, Idaho; Honolulu, Hawaii; Atlanta, Georgia; Hartford, Connecticut; Tucson, Arizona; Birmingham, Alabama; Miami, Florida; Houston, Texas; Boston, Massachusetts; New York City, New York; Oakland, California; Los Angeles, California; Washington D.C., and dozens more.