Lea Michele Accused of Making Life “A Living Hell” for ‘Glee’ Co-Star

Glee actress Samantha Marie Ware is calling out co-star Lea Michele for allegedly making her life “a living hell” on set. On Monday night, Ware, who had a recurring role in the sixth season of the musical dramedy, slammed Michele for supporting the Black Lives Matter movement despite spending years committing “traumatic microaggressions” against her Black co-stars. “I believe you told everyone that if you had the opportunity you would, ‘Shit in my wig,'” recalled Ware.

Last week, Michele spoke out against the murder of George Floyd, a Minneapolis man who was killed after a police officer kneeled on his neck for almost nine minutes. “George Floyd did not deserve this,” tweeted the Glee star. “This was not an isolated incident and it must end. #BlackLivesMatter.”

Michele’s post received almost 4,000 retweets, and by Monday night, it had made its way to Ware, who had a recurring guest role as Jane Hayward in Glee Season 6 (she appeared in 11 episodes of the final season). Ware suggested that Michele was a hypocrite for supporting the Black Lives Matter movement, as the star’s behavior on the Glee set “made [Ware] question a career in Hollywood.”

Ware’s tweet immediately went viral, and before long, other Glee actors chimed in. While Alex Newell and Amber Riley appeared to cheer on Wade (Newell posted the “Get her, Jade!” GIF, and Riley posted a sipping tea GIF), Dabier Snell recounted his own negative experience with Michele. “Girl you wouldn’t let me sit at the table with the other cast members cause ‘I didn’t belong there,'” recalled Snell, who appeared in a 2014 episode of Glee. “Fuck you Lea.” Actor and drag queen Willam Belli added that Michele treated him “so subhuman” that he left the set.

Michele has yet to respond to Ware’s allegations or issue a statement on the controversy. Decider has reached out to Lea Michele’s representatives for comment, but did not hear back by the time on publication.

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