Michele apologizes after Ware accusations
Lea Michele has issued an apology after “Glee” costar Samantha Marie Ware accused her of creating a bad work environment on the set of the show.
The exchange began after Michele posted a message on social media Friday, “George Floyd did not deserve this. This was not an isolated incident and it must end,” she wrote. Michele included the hashtag #BlackLivesMatter.
Ware responded to Michele’s tweet and wrote she’ll never forget the way she felt Michele treated her during their time working together on “Glee,” calling it a “living hell.”
“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 ‘s--- in my wig!’ amongst other traumatic microaggressions that made me question a career in Hollywood,” Ware tweeted.
Michele’s partnership with HelloFresh was terminated by the company following Ware’s comments.
“What matters is that I clearly acted in ways which hurt other people,” Michele said in a statement posted on Instagram. “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.”
“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,” Michele continued. “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.”
Michele said she doesn’t remember “ever making this specific statement.”
“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,” she wrote. “We all can grow and change and I have definitely used these past several months to reflect on my own shortcomings.”