Just hours after Lea Michele issued a public apology for the way she treated her costars on set of Glee, Jordan Pruitt claimed that “everyone in Hollywood knows she is a horrible person.”
Taking to Twitter on Thursday, June 4, the former Disney Channel star wrote, “Everyone in Hollywood KNOWS that Lea Michele is a horrible human being… She is a b***h to everyone. We all know it… Yawn. Moving on…”
“I much more tea where that came from… But I ain’t spillin’,” she added. “I lived in LA and worked there for a LONG time. I’ve seen ALOT. Comes with the territory. I’m just saying, the only thing shocking is that people are just now calling her out… ‘Bout time.”
For those who missed it, the drama all started when Samantha Ware, who famously starred as Jane Hayward in 11 episodes of the Fox TV show, replied to a message on June 1, 2020, that Lea had posted in honor of the Black Lives Matter movement following George Floyd‘s tragic death.
“Remember when you my first television gig a living Hell?!?! ‘Cause I’ll never forget,” she fired back. “I believe you told everyone that if you had the opportunity you would ‘s**t in my wig’ amongst other traumatic microagressions that made me question a career in Hollywood.”
After Samantha posted her message, other stars, including Alex Newell and Dabier Snell also got involved. While Alex just replied with a GIF, Dabier added, “Girl, you wouldn’t let me sit at the table with the other cast members ’cause ‘I didn’t belong there.’ F**k you, Lea.” Plus, Keke Palmer and Ariana Grande, who starred in Scream Queens with Lea, unfollowed her on Instagram.
Amber Riley also spoke out about the situation during an interview, explaining, “I’m proud of [Samantha] for not being fearful and telling her truth. I’m not going to say that Lea Michele is racist. That’s not what I’m saying. That was the assumption because of what’s going on right now in the world and it happened toward a black person. I’m not going to say that she’s racist. She’s also pregnant and I think that everybody needs to kind of chill. Y’all have dragged her for a couple of days.”
The 34-year-old added that she hoped that Lea had “grown” from the situation.
“She reached out to me, I responded to her and that’s where it ends for me,” she concluded.
Heather Morris also weighed in on the drama.
“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 that she did for as long as she did, I believe she SHOULD be called out,” the actress wrote on Twitter. “Yet, it’s also on us because to allow it to go on for so long without speaking out is something else we’re learning along with the rest of society. But, at the current moment it’s implied that she is a racist and although I cannot comment on her beliefs, I think we’re assuming, and you know what happens when we all assume…”
— heather (@HeatherMorrisTV) June 3, 2020
Dean Geyer, who played Lea’s love interest, Brody Weston, in Glee, stuck up for her.
“Lea is still one of my favorite costars that I have had the pleasure of working with. She is extremely hard working and super fun to be around,” he said. “Her work ethic is so strong it forces you to always be on top of your game, and that’s something I looked forward to everyday on set. I definitely learned a lot. When jumping onto a hugely successful and established show like Glee, I went into it expecting to be known as the ‘new guy’ for at least a month, but that wasn’t the case at all. I almost immediately felt welcomed, and to be totally honest, out of everyone, Lea was the most friendly to me.”
“I can only speak for myself and my own experience, but from what I saw during my time on set, there was nothing but professionalism and a genuine sense of community amongst the cast and crew,” he continued. “No one showed any signs of discomfort while Lea was on set. If I’m basing my opinion off my season, there definitely shouldn’t be a reason for a backlash.”
On Tuesday, June 2, Lea broke her silence and posted a lengthy apology to Instagram.
“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 said. “When I tweeted the other day, it was meant to be a show of support for our friends and neighbors and communities of color during this really difficult time, but the responses I received to what I posted have made me also focus specifically on how my own behavior towards fellow cast members was perceived by them. While I don’t remember ever making this specific statement and I have never judged others by their background or color of their skin, 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 apologize for my behavior and for any pain which I have caused,” the 33-year-old added. “We all can grow and change and I have definitely used these past several months to reflect on my own shortcomings.”
“I am a couple of months from becoming a mother and I know I need to keep working to better myself and take responsibility for my actions, so that I can be a real role model for my child and so I can pass along my lessons and mistakes, so that they can learn from me,” Lea concluded. “I listened to these criticisms and I am learning and while I am very sorry, I will be better in the future from this experience.”
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