- Samantha Ware called out her Glee costar, Lea Michele, for making her life on set a "living hell".
- Samantha said Lea made her question pursuing a career in Hollywood after the trauma she caused.
- Lea has since lost a sponsorship deal and apologised to her costars.
When Lea Michele shared her support for the black community over the weekend amid protests for George Floyd in the US, she never expected the backlash she'd receive.
Fellow Glee costar, Samantha Ware, commented on her tweet: "Lmao remember when you made my first television gig a living hell?!?! Cause I'll never forget. I believe you told everyone that if you had the opportunity you would "shit in my wig" amongst other traumatic microaggressions that made me question a career in Hollywood."
LMAO REMEMBER WHEN YOU MADE MY FIRST TELEVISON GIG A LIVING HELL?!?! CAUSE ILL NEVER FORGET. I BELIEVE YOU TOLD EVERYONE THAT IF TOU HAD THE OPPORTUNITY YOU WOULD “SHIT IN MY WIG!” AMONGST OTHER TRAUMATIC MICROAGRESSIONS THAT MADE ME QUESTION A CAREER IN HOLLYWOOD... https://t.co/RkcaMBmtDA
— SAMEYAAAAAA (@Sammie_Ware) June 2, 2020
According to Variety, Samantha and Lea's Glee cast members backed the claims, with Amber Riley and Supergirl's Melissa commenting and liking the tweet, while Alex Newell wrote: "We ain't got not a damn thing to lie about 6 years later!"
Heather Morris, who played lovable Brittany Pierce in the show, also recently commented on the controversy, reports People, saying Lea was "unpleasant" to work with.
"For Lea to treat others with the disrespect that she did for as long as she did, I believe she SHOULD be called out."
Yvette Nicole Brown who worked with Lea on the show The Mayor also commented on Samantha's tweet: "I felt every one of those capital letters… every person on a set matters. Every person on a set deserves respect. And it is the responsibility of every series regular to make every person who visits their home feel welcome. This dismissive attitude is what's wrong in Hollywood and the world."
Lea has since lost a sponsorship deal with HelloFresh who said they "[do] not condone racism nor discrimination of any kind" while Lea has publicly apologised for how her "own behaviour 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 colour of their skin, that's not really the point, what matters is that I clearly acted in ways which hurt other people," she wrote on Instagram.
"I apologise for my behaviour and for any pain which I have caused," she said.
SEE THE FULL STATEMENT HERE:
Samantha has since seemingly seen Lea's apology and used it to share a GoFundMe campaign for James Scurlock, a 22-year-old black man who was shot and killed while protesting the murder of George Floyd over the weekend, reports People.
"Perceived? Purcieved? Purse? Open your purse??????????????" she wrote on Twitter.