What’s up guys, it’s Sussan Mourad with Clevver News, and following Lea Michele’s
apology to Glee co-star Samantha Ware for mistreating her on-set, Samantha is calling
Lea out for a weak apology… and additional co-stars are coming out with even more allegations.
By now, many of us know a sincere apology when we see one, and following Lea Michele’s
apology for her racist remarks and harsh treatment of her former co-star Samantha Ware on the
set of Glee, many fans and other former co-stars are now calling her bluff.
But if you missed all the not-so-gleeful interactions that led to all the backlash, let’s backtrack
for a second.
In what started as support for the Black Lives Matter movement, Lea took to Twitter last
week to express in her words that, “George Floyd did not deserve this.
This was not an isolated incident and it must end.”
Fans were quick to take note that Lea’s former co-star Samantha Ware had clapped back
with some relatable tea of her own.
Samantha responded to Lea’s post with claims that she had made her first TV show gig a
living hell, and at one point Lea even told everyone that if she had the opportunity,
she would QUOTE “s*** in my wig” amongst other traumatic microaggressions.
Lea didn’t release a statement of her own until just Wednesday, when she took to Instagram
to share a lengthy response, not mentioning Samantha by name, and claiming that she didn’t
even remember the incident.
While Lea apologized for her behavior and for any pain she caused, she also claimed
that she has “never judged others by their background or color of their skin” and spoke
a lot about how her behavior was “perceived” by others.
That word, ‘perceived,’ in particular, is what caused an uproar among fans, who felt
she wasn’t taking full responsibility for her past actions.
Many have since spoken out and slammed Lea’s apology, so much so that even meal-kit company
HelloFresh has ended their partnership with Lea amid the racist accusations.
Fans began commenting on Lea’s post writing comments like, “Why do so many people keep
having the same “perceived” experience with you??” and “So you’re not sorry.
And that’s what you missed on GLEE.”
Since issuing the apology, Samantha seemed to have tweeted a response to Lea without
actually using her name, BUT using the word ‘perceived’ and urging her to open her
purse and donate to a Black Lives Matter cause, writing, “Perceived?
Purcieved?
Purse?
Open your purse??????????????”
Now, that’s one way to call for action!
But the backlash didn’t stop there.
Lea’s other Glee co-star Heather Morris also put in her two cents on her experience
working with Lea, sharing a statement that read, “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; for Lea to treat others with the disrespect she did for as long as she
did I believe she SHOULD be called out.”
Heather went on to add that it’s on her castmates (herself included) because they
allowed it to go on for as long as it did, and tied this message to what’s currently
going on in the world.
She said, “To allow it to go on for so long without speaking out is something else we’re
learning along with the rest of society.”
Amber Riley shared a gif of herself to Twitter casually sipping tea, however, remained neutral
in her response because of the obvious -- we’ve got a LOT of more important issues to be worrying
about right now as a society.
During an Instagram Live interview when she was asked to weigh in on the allegations,
Amber said QUOTE, “I don’t give a s--t about this Lea Michele thing.
I really don’t give a f--k.
I don’t.
I don’t want to be asked about it—and I’m not talking to you, I’m talking about
everyone else…I don’t give a s--t.
People are out here dying.
Being murdered by police.
Trans women are being murdered at the hands of men.
I wish Lea Michele well.
I hope that she has an amazing pregnancy.
I hope that she has grown.”
Referencing Lea’s apology, Amber said that this is the first and last time she will address
the issue, but that QUOTE, “I didn't read it because, I told you, I don't give a s--t
about it.
That's my hope and my prayer for her.
She reached out to me and I responded to her.
That's where it ends for me.”
Lea’s other Glee co-stars Dabier and RuPaul’s Drag Race alumn, Willam, also had a few things
to say.
Dabier wrote back with his experience, saying QUOTE, “GIRL YOU WOULDNT LET ME SIT AT THE
TABLE WITH THE OTHER CAST MEMBERS CAUSE ‘I DIDN'T BELONG THERE’”.
Willam said, “Lea treated me so subhuman I left the set of Glee.
Pass the popcorn.”
Even Lea’s Broadway co-star Gerard Canonico chimed in in the comments section of her post,
writing, “You were nothing but a nightmare to me and fellow understudy cast members.
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.”
Another user wrote on Lea’s post that when she first moved to LA, she was warned about
Lea by some of her acting friends.
She said QUOTE, “EVERY.
SINGLE.
ONE.
OF.
THEM. had something very negative to say about how they were treated by you on the set of
Glee.
There was a huge well known warning to not accept a casting from Glee because of YOU.
Just had to add to the endless negative encounters because this apology is a joke and you need
to do better.”
So clearly the point was made, BUT I don’t want to get away from the bigger issue at
hand.
The last thing we do want is to condone any sort of hatred toward one another, especially
during a time when we all need to focus on spreading love and acceptance.
Hate is so easy to spread, and while Lea has hopefully learned her lesson, our hope is
that she’s also learning about the effects of her words and actions, and how they can
have a lasting impact on people.
And with our voice, we here at Clevver also want to make sure we’ve made it clear that
we stand against all injustices experienced by members of the black community.
Including George Floyd and the many other black people who have tragically lost their
lives due to the color of their skin and police brutality.
We’ve linked some resources and places to donate down in the description below and we
will continue to cover these stories and take part in these conversations.
Speaking of conversations, click right over here to hear why CLEVVER stands up against
injustice!
Then feel free to share all your thoughts on the allegations against Lea down here in
the comments.
I’m your host Sussan Mourad, bye guys.