Just days after one of her former Glee stars accused her of making her lives “a living hell” on set, Lea Michele has issued a public apology.
Taking to Instagram on Tuesday, June 2, the actress wrote, “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.”
For those who missed it, 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 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 wrote on Twitter. “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.”
“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,” Lea continued in her statement. “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.”
After Samantha posted her message, other stars, including Alex Newell, Amber Riley and Dabier Snell also got involved. While Alex and Amber just replied with GIFs, 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.
“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.”
Love J-14? Be sure to subscribe to our YouTube channel for fun, exclusive videos with your favorite stars.
