You know what I find sort of funny about the Lea Michele situation? After the first wave of call-outs from former coworkers about her bullying, ridiculously inappropriate behavior, Lea issued a complete word-salad apology which no one bought, and added another offense onto the pile. And since then, she hasn’t officially offered anything else. Yet, I believe her publicist (that poor person) is probably trying to massage the story – thus “Lea might have behavioral issues” – but to not give it another shot, apology-wise? That says something to me too. I get that Lea’s publicist is probably telling her to keep her mouth shut and hope that everything blows over, but if Lea sincerely wanted to apologize and vow to make a change, she would. She hasn’t.
Meanwhile, did you know that Lea also terrorized people in the beauty industry? Her diva antics were not simply limited to Ryan Murphy’s sets. Quelle surprise.
Beauty business insiders say former “Glee” diva Lea Michele is known to be toxic in the industry because of her ugly behavior. The actress, 33, has been caught up in a storm of damning headlines with a host of former co-stars calling her a mean girl. Now, those behind the scenes are joining in.
One beauty pro told Page Six that after Michele was signed to be the face of L’Oréal in 2012 for an estimated $1 million, one of her duties was a short interview about her beauty routine — and she stormed out in the middle of it. The source claimed, “All the questions and answers were agreed [on] in advance, she just had to answer five questions on camera about her hair routine to a crew hired by L’Oréal. But two questions in, Lea just stood up, said she was done and walked out, leaving everyone standing there in shock. The head of L’Oréal asked if she was coming back, and her mother said, ‘No, she’s not.’ ”
In 2013, L’Oréal signed Blake Lively for the “Because You’re Worth It” campaign.
The source added of Michele, “This is who she is. Given how small the industry is, the word has spread across other beauty brands.”
However other sources close to the production who worked with Lea on L’Oreal shoots said she was lovely to work with. One source who worked on production for L’Oreal, “I don’t ever remember her being difficult on or off-set.”
LOL. I remember Lea getting the L’Oreal contract but I didn’t realize that her contract only lasted for a year before they had enough. L’Oreal is one of the beauty companies which generally lock celebrities into longer, multi-year contracts too. It says something that Lea only lasted a year. And yes, I completely believe that Lea was a douche to people across all industries, of all races, of all job descriptions. It wasn’t just co-stars, it was the below-the-line staff on her shows, it was L’Oreal people and someone might want to check in on Lea’s manager, publicist and agent, not to mention her household staff and anyone in food service who has ever had to deal with her. I’m just sayin’.
Photos courtesy of WENN.
I love how all this is only coming out now. I didn’t even watch Glee and I think we all knew she was like that from day one. Bitch is somehow even more extra than Billy Porter…and that’s saying something.
I watched 3 episodes back in 2010
And found her so so off
Stopped watching it cuz of her OFF vibes
I am kind of loving it too, and I’ve only seen a couple of episodes of Glee so I’ve never really had an opinion on Lea Michele. I do know that she is besties with Jonathan Groff, who I enjoy and find it interesting that he hasn’t said shit since this all started (that I know of). I know this stuff isn’t super important in the grand scheme of what’s happening in the world but something about 2020 has people just tired of ALL the bullshit, big and small.
What a nightmare of a woman. Will she ever work again? I guess Ryan Murphy will hire her because he seemed willing to let her terrorize his shows before
Nope! Good ole Plate Face dug her own grave, now she’s turning in it. She was never a big enough star to wield so much attitude. Her career is done.
Mediocre White people usually get multiple attempts at a tearful apology and career comeback, so I’m sure she will too.
How the hell did she get away with this for so long? She’s not even that famous.
Because she’s White. Imagine if she was Black or any other WOC. She would have been blacklisted from Hollywood years ago. I see this type of sh*t in the real world too. White people being absolutely horrible at work and yet continue to get promotions.
@girl_ninja There are plenty of people who still do not consider people who areItalians or Greeks or have that heritage as white.
I have an Italian last name through my step father adopting me. My old roommates now husband was surprised when he heard it for the first time…and the reason why was because “I looked so…American.” I have extremely Irish features so knowing him, it was the nicest way he felt he could say I looked too white for my last name.
That said, he’s a racist toolbag about everything, who didn’t even know about Virginia vs Loving which I had to explain to him one day while I was explaining not to judge relationships you don’t understand IRT LGBTQ relationships and rights, because my old roommate is black and their relationship was once illegal, even though I know she specifically doesn’t support the LGBTQ community. And she just sat there nodding quietly. Because she dare not openly rebuke her man. I do not understand how they got together, much less got married.
I spent a lot of that time in my life listening and trying to figure out when and how to effectively advocate during those interactions. It was exhausting. I had to pick my battles and was very aware of how they were trying to indoctrinate me/save me as they were fundamental evangelicals.
I’m half Greek half German and yes, that’s totally white. Italians are white. Tanning easily does not make you a person of color and claiming that is harmful. I realize certain celebs *cough*Kardashians*cough* would have you believe otherwise but let’s not.
I also just remembered that Blake Lively came out with that Cherokee nonsense during her L’Oréal years. These companies need to do so so much better.
Greek people and Italians are white. Just watch the show My Brilliant Friend on HBO. They come in a variety of skin tones from pale to olive skinned but they are still white. I was in Greece last summer and I can assure you they are pretty much all white. Greece and Italy are Mediterranean in culture but that’s a different story.
It is true that Italians immigrants were discriminated against in cities like NYC along with the Irish and other European nationalities when they arrived in the US. But that was xenophobia and discrimination, not racism.
I’ve never considered Italians and Greeks as non-white. It never crossed my mind as an actual thing that happens before that incident.
But there are lots of people who actually do consider these ethnicities as non white. Regardless of their reason it’s an interesting look into some racists and bigots heads when you see it. But I wouldn’t claim an absolute that it doesn’t happen just because you haven’t seen it or experienced it.
Italians do have north african DNA so according to stupid american race rules around drops of blood, they would be black
Okay, but if a person is considered ‘white’ (by some) but is still subject to xenophobia and discrimination, then no, the are not being afforded the privileges of white.
I find it hilarious how for some reason Americans seem to think only pale blonde people are white I guess? There are all sorts of forms of hatred and intolerance in the world and not all of them revolve around your skin color. I mean two world wars were not started because of skin color or race.
I’m not saying Italian and Greek immigrants don’t get discriminated in America, they most certainly get looked down upon, but it’s not because of their race. It’s the same reason why the Irish get discriminated or why Slavic people get discriminated. I mean Brexit essentially happened because people were sick of years and years of Eastern Europeans constantly immigrating into the UK.
Historically and traditionally everyone’s white in Europe yet we all hated each other and killed each for millennia. Privileged people (aka the rich and those holding power) discriminate against the uneducated poor masses regardless of how the masses look like…
White people aren’t inherently privileged. WASPs are privileged, if you’re Slavic or Mediterranean you’re second class always.
Quick question then. Do y’all consider Latinx and Asians white?
Not white, no. It doesn’t in the slightest excuse her behaviour, but she has experienced set backs and discrimination for not fitting the white leading lady mould and being too ‘ethnic’. It is commendable that a woman who is not white has gained such success on broadway and mainstream tv. Props to Ryan Murphy for that!
But her behaviour though 🙁
It’s interesting… it does take a special kind of ruthlessness to succeed in showbiz, politics, or any career, if you belong to a traditionally marginalised group.
It’s why small men in leadership are often said to have a nepoleon complex, or boss ladies are considered to be major b’s, or black leaders are stereotyped as angry. BC if you don’t fit the mould, you have to work a million times harder, be stronger and demand not ask.
I wonder if Leah already knew this when she was twelve and it became her norm, or was she truly awful from birth, or would she have not succeeded if she was nicer?
Again, not excusing her behaviour. But as we hopefully move into a more equal world, perhaps our future leaders won’t have to be so ruthless to get ahead and could afford to be decent while being respected despite not being straight white men.
One can only hope.
I think in America, she for sure is considered White and therefore is afforded all the privilege being White gets you.
She considers herself and is considered white in the United States. Having a tan, dark eyes, and dark hair does not make you a person of color. Being of Italian/Spanish descent makes you white, as Italy and Spain are in Europe. Sure, the average Spaniard or Italian may have a darker complexion than a Swedish or Finnish person, but they are still white.
The only thing shocking in that article is that Loreal would pay an “estimated $1 million” for Lea, when they can literally have anyone they want.
Don’t mean to be rude, but am gonna be anyway.
I remember years back there was an article written by a server at a restaurant who detailed the nicest and rudest celebrities they had encountered on the job. Lea was apparently one of the rudest.
You can always tell what kind of person someone is by how they treat servers and the person at the front desk.
So true. If you are rude to service people, you are trash and should be shunned by society.
Times up – cancel this problematic person permanently.
Who does she think she is?
(I know that is a gross response and no one – not even like Beyonce – should be allowed to treat people poorly, but I just cannot understand why this woman has such an inflated sense of importance when there are more massively talented and well known people who are known to be peaches)
I truly think she was determined to have a Streisand-like persona then and now.
If she doesn’t have any actual psychological issues then I have to side-eye her parents. She was apparently acting this way as a child. What on earth did her parents do that gave her such a sense of entitlement?
Welp, based on this article it seems it’s been a pattern of Lea being a brat and her mom/dad covering for her. It doesn’t take much to teach or let a child learn what they can get away with. Lea seems very immature.
She is the produce of pushy stage parents who think their child is the most talented snowflake on the planet – she has talent but she clearly has been encouraged to think she is better than everyone else, including thinking that she can treat people the way she does without consequences.
Its likely she has a personality disorder combined with bad parenting.
It’s likely that personality disorder is a result of bad parenting.
She is not only a racist, she is an a-h@le.
Correct!!! I can’t imagine going through life being an asshole to EVERYONE. She’s a dick.
Just my theory:
I think Lea’s problem is that she’s a very superficial person, and she has looked up to past and present “divas” in the industry for inspiration. I genuinely think she believes she’s a legend in the making (if she doesn’t think she is one already) and that part of this “legacy” means she must act a “diva.” —but because she’s such a superficial person, she only grasped the concept of being a “diva” as acting mean and superior to others. She failed to understand many “divas” of the past and some in the present have been women growing in the industry having to fight for everything they got and putting on a tough shell in order to get the respect they deserved. This is not to say some divas have not been just legit a-holes, but that there is a reason why people called assertive women with talent, power and influence “divas”—and it wasn’t because they terrorized other people around them. I bet the term initially had very sexist connotations too.
All that to say, Lea is going about it all wrong. Her whole career has been her demanding respect she hasn’t earned, and IMO she thinks being an a-hole bully will get her respect and admiration. In order for her to change she has to stop all this self-importance she has showered on herself since she debuted to the mainstream on “Glee.” But she won’t cause that would take a lot of work and introspection—which I believe she isn’t capable of.
Yes i think you nailed it ,she thinks that acting like this is the way to get legendary status. She probably acts her way through life in the most dramatic sense. In her head she probably think she is like Streisand or those so calles difficult divas from different screen eras.
She probably skipped the part where if you want to work you must be professional otherwise…well go ask Katherine Heigl.
Well, she’s made herself into a legendary ahole in the industry, so… mission accomplished, I guess?
I think between this and being an only child and some vulnerabilities/insecurities you are spot on. It’s why some people have a good experience and others report on a bad one. Or why she’ll be sweet with certain people or on camera but is such a ‘hard ass’ otherwise. This is really good assessment.
She must have a greatness’s complex, because have an suchs horrible attitude against people who works with her while at this time of her career level she was just a main actress in a series. Certainly Glee was a successful serie but being a main actress of a successful series does not guarantee to have a great career thereafter in the cinema industry or even in the entertainment industry. The actresses at their beginnings are rather cool and cooperative then when they are a stable career and a lot of money, she can becomes a angry narcissist.
I think she struggles with insecurities as well as a greatness complex. She has a very good voice and is an okay actress who has made a living because of her skill.
But she knows that she is far from the prettiest girl in the room and that drives her crazy.
Joan Rivers used to tear into Lea every chance she got on Fashion Police. It would have been mean coming from anyone else, but you could tell Joan just KNEW.
Ok, now I gotta dig through the files.
Takes a mean girl to know a mean girl…
Lol unlikely… Joan was just a see you next tuesday!
I went back to watch some of her interviews,they were so over the top sweetness. Its like she was constantly ‘on’ when the cameras were rolling and that must be exhausting no wonder she flipped when they were off.
I think Lea and Wee Willy Winkle may have had similar upbringings: Oh, you are so marvelous, oh, you are a future king, nothing you do or say is wrong, because you are wonderful. Oh, you have a magical voice, can sing and dance at the same time and will forever be a Star! Living with only praise, without boundaries, rules, limitations and meaningful consequences put on someone’s behaviour…they just keep going. Hence “I’m bored with racism in football” and “I’m sorry that’s YOUR perception” type comments and responses.
It’s hard when you’ve been raised being told you are totally wonderful and you are a miracle and you are all things good. It’s hard when you’ve been raised being told you are worthless, you should be more like your sister (my mum), you are stupid, lazy, etc. They are the opposite sides of the same coin. That said, a person eventually has to stop blaming their parents for who they are and take responsibility for the person they intend to grow themselves into…and that’s a life-long process. It seems that neither have started down that road yet… and may never will. And that’s on them. That’s on Lea for not learning and growing; I’m sure there have been opportunities but she was too wonderful to think she wasn’t. That’s on Prince William for not opening his mind, his heart and his eyes to the world around him…they both have kept their worlds, hearts and minds small. At their ages, we know it must be by their own choice, so yeah, done with Wm and….sadly, because her singing voice is truly a gift…done with Lea. I have all three of her discs, but she gets no more of my money till she makes real retribution. And I’ve changed from being a monarchist to #abolishthemonarchy supporter……these people cancel themselves!
Being a fan of Glee when it was on, it pains me to know she was/is a complete MONSTER. I find it ironic, considering the show was supposed to be all about accepting everyone. Shame on Ryan Murphy for allowing her to be hideous to his other cast and crew members. I look forward to her having zero career moves after all of this; very happy that her cruelty has been exposed. Justice!
Am I the only one extra grossed out that her mom was there? It really feels like her parents co-signed her appalling behavior. My mom would never let me act that way.
Because Lea probably still funds her parents’ lives as she has since she was a tween. They don’t want to get cut off if they p*ss off the diva. A messed up dynamic I’ve seen with other former child stars whose careers I’ve kept tabs on.
I thought her Dad made a fortune in real estate and spoiled her?
After reading that she was a terror at 12 years old in the Ragtime production, I had to look up any performance I could find her in: how could someone that little be so horrible that young? And the size of that cast was HUGE! She wasn’t the star of the show. She was what: one of three kids in the show? She was threatening to get crew fired? WTF????
“However other sources close to the production who worked with Lea on L’Oreal shoots said she was lovely to work with. One source who worked on production for L’Oreal, “I don’t ever remember her being difficult on or off-set.”
LOL LOL LOL YAH RIGHT. Nice plant, Lea’s publicist!
LOL! My thoughts exactly when I read it.
Loreal dropped a model in 2017 for posting about systemic racism. now they have seen the error of their ways and want her back to advise them.
https://www.cnn.com/2020/06/10/business/munroe-bergdorf-loreal-rehired-scli-gbr-intl/index.html
I think the reason why she may not have issued another apology is because she’s just one of those who is truly happy with who she is, even if that is a total a-hole? It IS possible that she simply doesn’t care at all about other people’s feelings. Doesn’t make it right at all, of course not.
I devoutly hope all the cr@p comes out soon because her face is painful to look at, and having it out in the open day after day is starting to ride my last nerve. She is odious inside and out.
I never watched Glee, but every picture I’ve ever seen of Michele just screams “constipated rage monster” to me. She vibrates with a certain energy … does she blink?
I’m sure there will be an attempt to whitewash her when she becomes a MOTHER!
Cue the Pinteresty baby shower and photo shoots.
Lol.
FTA: One source who worked on production for L’Oreal, “I don’t ever remember her being difficult on or off-set.”
“I don’t ever remember” is not equal to “That never happened”.
I absolutely have no memory of her being connected to the company in any way. I remember other actresses but not her.
Y’all ain’t playing when you ask if Lea would’ve lasted as long if she were a person of color. Look at Mo’ Nique – more famous than Lea and is an Oscar winner. She was blacklisted and if I recall correctly, what she did wasn’t even the worst. She wanted to get paid for campaigning.
How do I put this delicately……someone gave HER a contract in the BEAUTY industry?
So is Lea racist or just a class A beeatch
The only thing that surprises me about this situation is that anyone else is surprised. This was a well known secret for years. I always figured her nasty behavior was the reason she didn’t have a career anymore. In her Glee days, she was tapped to be the next big thing but for the last few years I’ve barely heard about her. She’s made some really good contacts over the years so the fact that she still doesn’t work is very telling. Horrible, horrible person.