Extras and background actors from Glee are telling their side of the story after various costars accused star Lea Michele of racist and insensitive behavior on the set of the musical series. Allegedly, the 33-year-old “couldn’t be bothered” to associate with non-leading actors while filming the show, an insider told Us Weekly.
“[Michele] would pass by and ignore the extras. I saw other cast members mingling with extras and crew,” the source claimed. “She literally acted like I didn’t exist when I said hello to her. She didn’t even acknowledge me.”
Another source spoke about an incident where “no one wanted to touch” cupcakes Michele brought to set for the cast and crew after filming wrapped.
“One of the production guys asked who brought the cupcakes,” the insider claimed. “Someone said, ‘[Michele] did.’ The guy scoffed and walked away from it. At the end of the shoot, one of the crew members took a cupcake and gave it to me and said, ‘Take it. No one’s going to eat it.’”
On June 1, Samantha Ware was the first to call out the Bronx native after her show of support for Black Lives Matter and George Floyd’s death on Twitter. “LMAO remember when you made my first television gig a living hell?” the 28-year-old wrote. “‘Cause I’ll never forget. I believe you told everyone that if you had the opportunity you would ‘s—t in my wig’ amongst other traumatic microaggressions that made me question a career in Hollywood …”
Several more of Michele’s former costars throughout her career spoke out about their experiences working with her. Lookalike actress Monica Moskatow claimed the singer called her “ugly” during the season 1 premiere — and Michele’s former boyfriend, Cory Monteith, comforted her after the incident.
On June 2, Michele lost her partnership with meal-prep company HelloFresh as a result of the accusations. She apologized for her alleged behavior in an Instagram statement on June 3, though she maintains she doesn’t “remember” any of the supposed incidents and has “never judged” someone by their race or background.
Scroll through the gallery to see comments about Lea’s insensitive behavior from background actors and extras from Glee.