As someone who always got a bad vibe from Lea Michele, I’m feeling pretty good about what’s happened to her this week. I feel like my instincts were dead-on about her. To recap, Samantha Marie Ware got the ball rolling when she responded to Lea’s tweet about the murder of George Floyd. Ware said Lea made her first TV gig “a living hell” and that Lea “told everyone” that if she had the opportunity, she would “sh-t” in Ware’s wig. Ware accused Lea of “traumatic microaggressions” and more. Many of Lea’s former costars piled on with GIFs and tweets, backing up Ware’s story. Then yesterday, Lea decided to release an apology which was… one of the WORST apologies I’ve ever read in my life. I can’t even summarize it – just go here to read the mess. Her publicist must have been drunk when she okayed that. So what else has happened? Another costar is speaking up – Heather Morris worked with Lea for years on Glee.
Heather Morris is speaking out about the allegations made against her former Glee co-star Lea Michele. The 33-year-old actress and dancer, who played cheerleader Brittany S. Pierce on the beloved series, says that Lea was “very” unpleasant to work with.
Heather said, “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.”
“And 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,” Heather continued. “But, at the current moment its 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…”
I think Heather is trying to make a nuanced argument, one which (ultimately) doesn’t even matter. Heather’s basically like “yeah, Lea threatened to sh-t in a lot of wigs, but I don’t think wig sh-tting is necessarily racist”? Which is not the point because it’s still wig sh-tting. Also, I believe Samantha Ware. She didn’t say “racist” but she said “traumatic microaggressions,” and a lot of Lea’s former costars (who happen to be black) were agreeing with Ware. As for this: “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.” I hate that both-sidesism. Yes, every coworker has a responsibility to treat each other with respect, and when one person is constantly disrespectful, people should speak out. But it’s not “on” Lea’s bullying victims in the same way it’s “on” Lea for being a hateful, wig sh-tting C-U-Next-Tuesday.
What else? Lea’s Spring Awakening costar Gerard Canonico had this to say about working with Lea and her horrendous apology:
SPRING AWAKENING castmember Gerard Canonico has weighed in, calling Michele “nothing but a nightmare.” pic.twitter.com/wCJcSmbgsn
— Ξvan Ross Katz (@evanrosskatz) June 3, 2020
And Samantha Ware made a pun about how many times Lea said “perceived” in her apology.
Perceived? Purcieved? Purse?
Open your purse??????????????https://t.co/pQ71xtsyxD— SAMEYAAAAAA (@Sammie_Ware) June 3, 2020
Photos courtesy of WENN.
I think we all need to unlearn this dumb introspection thing whenever someone is a d*ck to us or treat us horribly. And by we I mean in this case women. She was an a**, just let that stand. We don’t always have to be gracious or the bigger person. Who made that rule?
“you know what they say about people who assume…” is an assumption that I know what they say…and I don’t, so what does that make people who say that?
The phrase I’ve heard is “when you assume you make an “ass” out of “u” & “me”, being that all of those letters are in the word. Maybe that’s what she’s referring to, but I’d like to hear others take on it too, please.
EDIT: Sorry, didn’t mean to double post.
I don’t think it’s both-side-ism… I think perhaps what she’s trying to say is they stood by and let other people get bullied, they looked the other way (even if some of them were also the subject of the behaviour). And that seems pretty valid, especially now.
Agreed, I didn’t see it as both sidesim either. Going by everyone’s stories Lea’s had this reputation for the entirety of her career and it was only now that she got seriously called out.
Are her coworkers at fault because she’s a bitch? No. Did the fact she never get called out for her behavior inspire her to continue acting like that? Most likely, yeah.
Two things can be true at once, that’s not both-siding.
The way I took it (and what I have repeatedly witnessed and heard many times over) is that white girls and women do not check each other when they are being assholes to others. They do not call each other out or challenge their bullshit. They may be rude or cruel or cliqueish to each other, but they also don’t challenge their “friends” or colleagues in the ways they should. They are conflict averse to the point of full on cowardice, and if there’s a racialized component to their bullying, they are even less likely to say something.
It’s part of why I reached a point where white women have to be seriously vetted before I deal with them as anything more than an acquaintance. They often come with too much BS and what their “friendship” provides in return isn’t really worth it. When I decided that I would ONLY be friends with white women who were explicitly doing anti-racist work on themselves and their communities, the caliber of friendships I had went up – because it’s a practice that takes courage to stick with when society is so quick to pass out the goodies to white women who conform.
That’s an interesting observation. As a white woman, I think there’s real truth to that. I don’t *think* I’m that woman more because I have some PTSD that stems from childhood trauma/abuse so I tend to be rather outspoken, but I will also admit that I got fired from every job I ever had because I wouldn’t “toe the line” and I constantly “broke the girl code” – direct phrases I heard over and over again. I’m going to really ruminate on what you posted, it’s really striking a chord with me.
I think there’s a huge difference between private and workplace. Obviously, Ryan Murphy, their boss, likes Lea and condones her behavior. It wasn’t a secret at all and that means it wasn’t necessary for anyone to bring this to his attention. Could they have confronted her? Probably. But I wasn’t there. I work in an office and there are people on my level who act like morons but their boss knows it and loves them. The first few years I didn’t say anything because I need my job. It’s secure now so I speak out. I wonder how everyone on set felt, knowing they needed this job and clearly, the boss liked this awful person.
All I’m saying is, this was a workplace and the fish smells from the head. Also, these people were young. I’m mid 30s and speaking up was a process. In private situations I never had that problem. Cause really, what can happen?
Totally agree with what emmy said. I work at a company where acting like a brat is rewarded. And those who are favorites of management seem to feel even more entitled to act that way. They throw fits and expect rules to be bent for them constantly. Rules are for other people, not ME. And yes, you often feel like speaking out isn’t going to change a damn thing, is just going to frustrate you and might endanger your job. So you say nothing and just seethe.
I agree with emmy that there’s a HUGE difference between private relationships and work. Unlike relationships, we need money to pay the bills and eat. So a lot of us take $hit because we cannot afford to lose our job.
Also I don’t think you can lump human individuals into “white women” and “black women” and “Asian women” I guess? We’re all pretty unique and different regardless of how we look. The quietest conformist person I know is my roommate who is African-American. I’m like her and avoid conflicts too. My best friend, a blonde white-girl is as crazy as they come and incredibly vocal about every wrong thing she encounters. I feel it’s more a character trait + years of teaching girls to be “nice” in general, then a skin-color thing.
Good on Heather Morris. I read Lea’s “apology” the other day and just laughed. What a joke. When you speak of perception, or I am sorry you thought that, or felt that way – you are not taking any responsibility for your own behavior. Which, clearly she is not.
I don’t know much about her, but she has always given me the diva, I am better than you, vibe. Glad to see she is getting called out; and also glad Hello Fresh dropped her that quickly.
When you behave badly, it should not be tolerated. PERIOD. I remember hearing an interview with Shonda Rhimes, writer of Grey’s Anatomy and Scandal speaking of Katherine Heigl and that controversy. And she quoted Maya Angelou “When people show you who they are believe them.”
Lea Michelle showed who she was.
I never watched Glee. To me LM always looked like a budget Idina Menzel.
Which is funny because IM played her mother on Glee (well, her bio mother who was a surrogate for her fathers).
Heather Morris played one of my few favorite Glee characters, and she’s an *incredible* dancer. I like what she said here, acknowledging her own complicity in looking the other way, which is a big part of the problem (aside from the acts themselves, of course).
Glee was garbage. I had a bad impression of it when Ryan Murphy threw a fit because Kings of Leon, Dave Grohl and other wonderful musicians didn’t want their music on the show.
Used to watch it pretty regularly as a teenager, was deeply confused as to why there were so many people who hated the show because I really liked then.
And then I grew up. And. -sigh- The show really was a whole wishful rewrite of what Ryan Murphy wishes were his high school years. Which makes sense given how much I liked it as a teenager, but yeah.
I’m not sure Heather is blaming the victims for not speaking out here? I think she’s saying that she as part of the cast and crew more broadly let Lea get away with it when they should have spoke out sooner? Or perhaps I’m being overly generous. She’s definitely trying to suggest that LM May have been an arsehole to everyone on my reading rather than just aimed at BAME cast mates.
I was good with the statement until she got to the part about assuming. It did sound to me like she meant the cast as a whole should have spoken up when they saw her being a horrible person instead of letting her go unchecked. I didn’t necessarily see it as her saying the actual victim of the bullying at the time should have done more – I think she meant that they should have been calling out her shit behavior in order to help the victims.
But then she had to add the assumption crap which just lost me. Had she not added that I think it would have been a much better statement.
I kind of took it the same way, I think she’s trying to say she can’t speak to whether Lea’s behavior was racist, because she treated EVERYONE terribly? I don’t know.
As for the other part, it’s a shame the rest of the cast regulars didn’t band together, especially when they saw her being abusive to extras and recurring characters, who don’t have any power or security in their jobs. Naya seems to have tried, and hopefully others did too, but I think this is probably somewhat common, to a lesser extent, on a lot of sets, and those with power should step up and change that.
I’ve never watched an episode of Glee. People asked why the cast didn’t speak out. Could it be that the office politics got in the way? Someone said LM was the clear RM favorite. That means she has mgmt backing. Who will put their necks on the the line for that? What happened to the person who spoke out? Didn’t she get let go?
Yes it all starts on the top – Ryan Murphy
So Naya Rivera was right all those years ago?
Because some persons didn’t believe her ?
Remember Jessica Lange ´s shade.
Look Michele ´s work after Glee ,she barely works .
Interesting that most of her work seems to come from Ryan Murphy. He needs to be asked why he tolerated her awful behavior towards other people.
Even when Lea was first on the show, she was always the person who got the most solos, the most musical numbers, the most interesting storylines, etc. Everyone was background to her and Cory Monteith. At the time, people said it was “in keeping” with her character, but the truth is, people wanted to hear some of the other people on the cast sing too, but Ryan Murphy monopolized her for the majority of the numbers at the expense of everyone else.
I don’t know if coopting the death of George Floyd was the right segue to have used for exposing bad behavior – Lea seems like an equal opportunity sadist, but I guess that’s the risk Lea took in being horrible to so many people. Someone was bound to bring it up someday.
I think if you look at many of the activist-minded black actors and performers cheering Ware on, you might come to the conclusion it’s not “co-opting.” Michele tried to use violence against black lives to make herself look like the bigger person — but violence exists on a spectrum, and Ware proved Michele had participated in that spectrum. Was Michele awful to people who weren’t black? Maybe, but you can’t live and work in the performance industry and realize how much harder people of color have to fight to simply BE there than their white counterparts, on all levels: acting, writing, technical, etc. Maybe she didn’t only target her black castmates, but there’s something to be said for the complicity of privilege. All Michele had to do was LOOK AROUND to understand how much more precarious Ware’s position was than white actors in similar positions. She still chose to bully and haze her, and that complicity absolutely deserves to be called out at a time when the issue is not just direct violence against black lives, but the people who refuse to place it in a greater context of social injustice. Especially when, as I said, MICHELE chose to put herself forward as a supposed ally.
I don’t believe Ware is putting her trauma on the same level as actual murder. But chastising her for speaking the truth in order to shake down a lie strikes me on the same level as men who complain women in first world countries don’t really know what oppression is, or have nothing to complain about — violence is a spectrum, and it deserves to be addressed on all levels.
Lea treated people horribly, and maybe has some sort of wig/scat fetish. I’m not aware that she’s been charged with violence. I’m sure it was traumatizing at the time. I’d remember and laugh about it if that happened to me (I think). If L Michele expressed an eagerness to change her behavior and made a kind, if insincere, statement, I think it is counterproductive to use it as a “GOTCHA!” moment.
There is a pressure to post a statement about George Floyd’s death on social media because people with influence have said that saying nothing is a sin. However, some people are actually bigots. Some people can’t IMAGINE having a negative interaction with police and they aren’t emotionally capable of empathy, but they’re still posting a saccharine meme or quote. Some people can’t stay on topic and are like “that one time…with my wig.” Not everyone posting those pithy comments is a good or thoughtful person or in touch with what is going on in the world. And, maybe, those people should sit this one out if they aren’t ready to make a full confessional about past offenses…but if they did that, I’m sure the response would be “stop making this about yourself, a man just died.” I don’t know.
I don’t fault Ware for deciding to tell her story at a time most likely to derail Michele’s career and endorsements. That’s how to play the long game against an evildoer and win! It would be unfortunate to chastise her for that accomplishment, but she absolutely leveraged a movement about excessive use of force for something only tangentially related, if you consider one person being white and one person being black, a similar scenario.
“ but I don’t think wig sh-tting is necessarily racist”?“
There are many issues of race and racism I have considered and many more that I am aware of and know I must work on understanding…
That one? Has not come up. 🤦♀️
I think black women mix it up with wigs more so than white women. That said, sure, I don’t know how many of the actresses wore wigs, on a set it is possible that more women of all races did. But generally, I would say a white actress telling a black actress that she would shit in her wig does come across as bullying with a racist tone to it. I could be wrong, but that is how I took it.
Like I said in a previous post, you’ve gotta be pretty damn bad if they don’t even want you on Broadway. As a theater kid, it was a lesson quickly learned that we accepted everyone, so her being ostracized to YWCA shower stall busking says a lot about who she is as a person.
I think heather was trying to make the point that Lea didn’t target people of color, she was a nightmare to literally everyone. Equal opportunity asshole. Doesn’t make it okay, and with every additional obstacle that people of color are faced with in that industry (that white people certainly do not have to face) the last thing this girl needed was Lea Michele and her bullshit. She sounds like a spoiled brat, and I’ve never understood why anyone would be a fan. Where the hell is Ryan Murphy in all of this?!
Yes, I think that Heather says that Lea didn’t discriminate in her assholing business. From what we’ve heard, she is a sociopath. Her actions are not politically driven, it doesn’t mean that she is a racist.
I did wonder that myself . Is she racist in that she specifically targets POC or was she just a s****y person to everyone? Could be why she talks about being “perceived” as racist when she was a nasty to everyone . Could have been more of a status thing. She was the “star” and they were lowly extras. Doesn’t make the behavior any better though.
I’ll never understand poop/pee/spitting on other people’s stuff. It honestly would never even occur to me to do such a thing. smh
I was just about to reference status, which makes me think that there actually probably is some underlying racism happening here.
I think Lea is a nightmare towards anyone who she assumes cannot benefit her. She puts on a different persona towards famous people and any hot guy that she might want to hookup with. She assumes that people of color, unless they’re so famous she knows who they are, cannot further her own ambitions and she dismisses them. Then again, she assumed Hailee Steinfeld was a nobody and made her cry so maybe I’m reading into it.
Either way, if the dialogue regarding Lea’s behavior is “is she a racist piece of trash or just a mean and spoiled piece of trash?” Then she sucks either way and yikes
People can only be judged by their actions. She acted like a racist a$$hole. And therefore she is one. Pretty simple.
While I understand we need to stand up for ourselves when this is happening, where are the people who are in charge? Certainly they saw the behavior and should have intervened. We see this all the time in the working world. And managers turn a blind eye because they don’t want to upset a star performer or have to deal with HR. The workers aren’t going to step up if the ones in authority aren’t going to. Plain and simple. It takes balls to step up against a system, regardless of it is in a microcosm of where I work or on a bigger stage. No pun intended. I also hold the higher ups accountable.
I think what Heather is implying is that Lea is a bitch to everyone. An equal opportunity offender.
The “Lea Michele is the worst” stories on Twitter are pretty nuts. I read one story that she spit soup back into a big bowl at craft services that was for everyone because she didn’t like it. And stories of her being rude to fans pretty much everywhere she went. She is a mean person and some of these stories make her sound legit insane.
I’m personally dying to hear from Naya Rivera. She already tried to expose this and nothing really came of it. I think that’s something Heather’s statement is trying to acknowledge. Like a bit of regret for all of them seeing the behavior first hand and nobody doing anything about it at the time.
I mean…was she in anything prior to Glee? Typically these monsters like to build a following before being nasty to everyone in the industry. Amateur move, Lea.
She was a Broadway fixture before Glee. And there are stories from her theater years too. I’m baffled that she managed to get this far in her career. There are stories of hair pulling and spitting and wig shitting. Like how did she not ever get fired from every single job? White privilege is certainly part of it but that can’t be all of it. I’m white and if I did any of things I’ve read she did I’d get fired on the spot.
I’d be interested to reread what Naya Rivera said too, though she also had a rep for being unpleasant and difficult during her Glee years.
IIRC, the gossip from that time was that Ryan Murphy instigated a great deal of that infighting in the first place. He unabashedly promoted Lea Michele because she was his favourite and the lead, and the others didn’t like that, and he encouraged the tensions and the rivalry among his cast.
It’s possible she was and remains an unpleasant person to everyone AS WELL as being a racist. However, Heather is right. Lea should have been called out years ago! And not just ppl gossiping about it. It’s not right that so many of her past coworkers (and ppl in the service industry) have had to put up with her bs.
@Mellymel
Exactly. She can be a general a-hole AND a racist a-hole at the same time, one does not cancel out the other.
I never watched Glee but I heard stories about Michelle when the show was on. I do not get why it was tolerated. She is talented but even a glance at her gives you the sense she is unpleasant. Her smile always seemed fake to me. I do not know what kind of career she has now but I would surmise it is minimal. I also saw that Melissa Benoist (Supergirl) was “liking” all these posts slamming Lea and Melissa seems like one of the nicest people out there. Lea had better do some major damage control and self reflection if she wants to recover from this
Next we’re going to be called on the carpet for bullying a pregnant woman….in 5, 4, 3, ………except as weird as this is, I am happy for her. Growth is painful and I hope Lea is in pain, and is learning important lessons that she will teach her child. I think being a theater kid can sometimes make a talented kid a prima donna because amazing talent in a kid is….amazing. And folks likely told told her how amazing she was since she was 8. Doesn’t give a person room to grow. Ryan Murphy has said he regrets not being more of a boss and a leader, less of a friend. He acknowledges he was the adult in the room, with more experience of success and he himself contributed to the chaos that the set experienced. Then Cory Monteith (sp?) died. She was redeemed somewhat because if this great guy loved her, she couldn’t possibly be as bad as the rumors were saying. So I hope she doesn’t get defensive, but takes the time to understand the how’s and why’s of what’s happening now regarding her past behaviours, and takes the painful knowledge she was an asshat with her into the rest of her life, and teaches her kid not to be a jerk.
That’s a very wise and kind comment! Thank you, Prayer Warrior, for bringing a ray of light in my otherwise gloomy day…
“I think being a theater kid can sometimes make a talented kid a prima donna because amazing talent in a kid is….amazing. And folks likely told told her how amazing she was since she was 8.”
Thats an interesting comment as I have a former friend who since she was a child was told how amazing she was, how beautiful she was, how intelligent she was etc… – now as an adult she cannot handle NOT being the centre of attention, NOT being given constant praise and NOT having her ego constantly reaffirmed by other people. Its the main reason we are no longer friends – I cut her out of my life for the sake of my mental health. People like that are toxic, emotional vampires and it’s very difficult for them to change their behaviours, even if they do acknowledge it.
I was a theater kid (but definitely not on the same level as Lea…I’m not that talented ha ha) and yeah it definitely can be a thing. I think celebrity (whether that’s a celebrity in community theatre or broadway or movies) is the issue, not theater or being complimented. I really think the majority of people are capable of becoming monsters if they never face consequences for their behavior.
Remember that quote (Who said that?) that the emotional maturity of a childhood actor/artist stops at the age they got famous?
I hardly follow Lea except for CB, but it seems the case here. It’s very sad how damaged child stars can get when they grow up, and it is not a justification to not really grow, but having a team of enablers, starting with your parents is mind-blowing.
This is life eating her a lesson, but she might reject it, as she is not used to be told the truth, maybe?
I think that sort of childhood praise and attention definitely feeds into issues as an adult, but the accounts of her behavior seem beyond just diva-sh tendencies or being emotionally stunted. It sounds like she went out of her way to be cruel to many people.
I too hope she does learn from this and really does change, especially since she’s about to bring a kid into the world, and that kid will need a good role model. It’s human nature to get defensive, but now more than ever is the time to admit past mistakes, listen, and try to do better.
So old girl crawled out to say, “well, she’s totally a mean girl but idk that she’s racist…..”
Ma’am, go sit down.
Please.
As someone else said above, I don’t think HM was putting the blame on those who were at the end of Lea’s agressions. To me it sounded more like she was talking about those who witnessed her being nasty to others (herself included) and didn’t do anything to stop her.
Yes — white women like Heather should speak out if they see black people mistreated, I did take it that way, however, the assume part, no. Threatening a black woman’s hair or wig like that is racist.
The stories about her go way back to her time on broadway – from what I recall she has ALWAYS been a nightmare to work with. The success of Glee only made her worse.
I don’t get it. But I do believe Heather Morris. However, Heather lost her father at a young age and when Lea Michele was grieving Cory they were seen around together a lot. Heather is very compassionate and offered her support.
But would you do that for someone who is awful or not a good friend? Also, two people have come out defending her Dean Geyeser (she?) who played her boyfriend on one season and one of the producers, Marti Nixon.
I think Jenna Ushkowitz and her stayed friends for years. Cory wasn’t a bad guy and he entered a relationship with even he is no longer here to chime in (May he Rest In Peace) and Dianna Agron has stayed silent. However, she used to have really nice things to say about Lea…like defending her against a jerk on an airplane. Naya’s quotes are out there, such as stating that Lea and her were very similar but that Lea was more ‘sensitive’. And producers obviously took Lea’s side rather than mediating or disciplining her.
I don’t doubt Lea is a diva but a lot is missing here and I think the Glee cast was dysfunctional especially as the show grew in popularity.
I could see Heather offering support to someone she didn’t like if that person was going through grief most people around her wouldn’t understand. I’m sure the whole cast was grieving together, it’s not like Cory was someone only Lea knew, he was her boyfriend but also someone they had all worked with (and someone who it sounded like most people really liked) for years. I read Marti Noxon’s original tweet and while I am a big fan of talking about how women v men are treated with regards to bad behavior, I think she was in the wrong by commenting the way she did. What Lea said to Samantha was horrid and unless Marti wants to come forward with the names and behavior of the men she’s talking about I think it was stupid of her to bring it up. I think I’d feel differently if the story was about how Lea is kind of a diva but it sounds like she is really malicious.
I didn’t see Heather’s statement as “both sides-ism” or putting blame on the victims of Lea’s treatment, I understood it as Heather saying it was wrong for her + other coworkers with more power on set to stand up and tell Lea her behavior was unacceptable. From the stories coming out it seems Lea is horrible to everyone she sees as beneath her (aka pretty much everyone lol) so I see it as her being an “equal opportunity a-hole” if you will but we should definitely not be ignoring any comments she made that have racist connotations (or as Samantha Ware said, traumatic microaggressions). I also hope this leads to general changes in what behavior that is tolerated on sets from major talent. I’m glad actors and other crew members (and servers and assistants and…) are speaking up about Lea and backing Samantha up.
@Jules Lea was presented as the ‘star’ and was generating press coverage for dating her co-lead. I bet producers loved that and ignored her behaviour. Naya was a main character, but far down the cast list and had less screen time. I think Naya was as talented and a more versatile singer than Lea, but they didn’t want to ‘overshadow’ Lea.
If anything, Lea’s dramatics were material that fed intro her character of Rachel. Eg she was very rude in her original audition video (just Google ‘Original Glee auditions’ and it’s around the 3:40 mark, which is exactly what her character would do, and allegedly Ryan Murphy has said that moment made him realise she was right for the park.
Also, Ryan himself seems like a nightmare to work with. There were comments or even plotlines that attacked the physical appearance of Kurt, Sam’s lips, Naya’s boob job was commented on, and when Charice Pempengco guest-starred characters were commenting on how short she was.
The whole first half of the first season, and even the second half of it, was pretty much the Lea Michele and Cory Monteith show. Very few of the singing parts went to other characters. The fans had to push for a lot of the storylines wrt Naya and Heather Morris especially, especially for Heather, because her character’s lines were pretty funny and everyone wanted to hear more from her and wanted to see her dance etc.
They had an incredibly talented cast as a whole, but Ryan Murphy let so many of them just fall by the wayside because he had originally just planned for the show to be about the leads and no one else.
I get what she’s saying here.
I think she feels bad that as a member of the main cast, none of them spoke out sooner when Lea was treating everyone terribly. The actors/performers in smaller roles didn’t have the pull/position to speak out and have people listen. She and others did but chose not to say anything. It sounds like guilt rather than blaming victims.
I also think she’s saying that Lea is generally a really bad person. So she’s not sure that Lea is racist because she treats everyone badly. Which I guess is fair. I also wouldn’t want to accuse someone of being racist if I wasn’t sure.
Let’s just all agree that Lea sucks. Don’t cast her in anything. Unfollow her on social media. Her claim to fame is still just being the girl from glee. I hope more people come forward, there have been rumours of this behaviour for years.
I remember hearing that Charice(now Jake Zyrus) was scheduled to appear in more episodes but Lea felt threatened and bullied him off the set.
Sidenote: I googled Charice to check spelling and learned that Charice transitioned to male and now goes by Jake Zyrus. I had no idea! Good for him.
Lea seems like a mean girl who caters to her victims with individual care, how thoughtful, she bullies them by trying to hit where she thinks it hurts the most. She threatened to poop in a black woman’s wig because hair is a very important part of a lot of black women’s lives, it’s what get them often bullied in school, it’s what get them victims of racial microaggressions at work, who hasn’t heard of kinky hair being called “unkempt” by racially biased peeps? It’s what prompts a lot of black women to hide their natural hair because they often feel pressure to fit in in a world that still pretty much rewards white-like beauty features so an insult, a threat regarding hair towards a black woman seems like a very racially targeted aggression.
With all due respect, I think you’re given too much thought into it… In other words, I honestly doubt Lea is that phylosophical in her evil-doing…From what I see, she acts like a stereotypical mean girl in a theatre circle. They usually tend to make damage to costumes and accessories that you need for your scene. The wig is an accessory here, not necessarily a symbol…
No Nina, you don’t get it. Attacking Black women’s hair styles and especially their natural hair is a very old racist trope.
And, racism isn’t necessarily something people consciously philosophize about, even if they are acting it out.
Samantha even said “amongst other traumatic microaggressions” which makes it clear that it was a racially motivated threat, insult and not an isolated one. The victim of Lea’s harassment said so and knowing how much hair matters in a very racist world, even the company that rescinded Lea’s sponsorship called it. This negative bias towards physical traits typical to black people have been weaponized against them their entire lives. Just because people who don’t present these features don’t see it, it doesn’t mean it’s not there.
I think she targets people who she perceives as less than her so that means people who are in the sidelines. And who are the people who are often relegated to the sidelines? People of color.