The Truth About The Lea Michele Racism Accusations

In the aftermath of George Floyd's death, which occurred after Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin knelt on his neck for more than eight minutes on May 25, 2020, celebrities have taken to social media to share their thoughts on the tragic situation. Since then, A-listers, including Halsey, Jamie Foxx, and Ariana Grande have joined protests across the United States to speak out against police brutality and support the Black Lives Matter movement.

On May 29, 2020, actress Lea Michele tweeted, "George Floyd did not deserve this. This was not an isolated incident and it must end. #BlackLivesMatter." Despite Michele's supportive statement, her former Glee costar, Samantha Marie Ware, claimed Michele wasn't so nice when the cameras stopped rolling.

"LMAO REMEMBER WHEN YOU MADE MY FIRST TELEVISION GIG A LIVING HELL?!?! CAUSE ILL NEVER FORGET," Ware, who played Jane Hayward alongside Michele's character Rachel Berry on the show in 2015, replied on Twitter. "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."

But what really happened between Ware and Michele on set? Keep reading to find out.

After Lea Michele's former costar Samantha Marie Ware accused her of inappropriate behavior on set, other cast members from Glee seemingly took sides. Alex Newell, who played Wade "Unique" Adams, wrote on Twitter, "I'm gonna say this one time ... when my friends [sic] goes through something traumatic I also go through it ... that's what friendship is ... and if you can't understand that then you're part of the problem ... and that's on PERIODT! And I mean that for both sides of this coin!"

Meanwhile, Amber Riley — who played Mercedes Jones on the show – shared gifs of herself on Twitter sipping tea and raising her hand to speak, perhaps implying she had more to say about the situation. Kevin McHale, who portrayed Artie Abrams, responded to a fan who said Chord Overstreet was a Donald Trump supporter and implied the Glee cast was "problematic." "false," McHale wrote on Twitter. "what is he saying is false though?? just chord or the whole thread?" one Twitter user replied. "chord," McHale replied, seemingly confirming the cast had issues.

Additionally, Yvette Nicole Brown, who appeared alongside Michele on The Mayor from 2017 to 2018, and Abigail Breslin, who worked with Michele on Scream Queens from 2015 to 2016, also shaded Michele on social media, per Us Weekly. 

Following Samantha Marie Ware's claims about Lea Michele's problematic behavior on the set of Glee, meal-kit company HelloFresh discontinued its partnership with the Broadway alum on June 2, 2020, per Variety.

"HelloFresh does not condone racism nor discrimination of any kind. We are disheartened and disappointed to learn of the recent claims concerning Lea Michele," the company wrote on Twitter. "We take this very seriously, and have ended our partnership with Lea Michele, effective immediately." A spokesperson for HelloFresh confirmed to Variety that they terminated "the relationship" with Michele following the incident.

On May 20, 2020, Michele uploaded a photo of herself with a HelloFresh package on Instagram for her 6 million followers. "So grateful for HelloFresh, now more than ever," the Hollywood star, who, as of this writing, is pregnant with her first child began. "Even though I'm just hanging at home, taking care of myself has become even MORE important. And HelloFresh delivers fresh ingredients and recipes we love, contact-free!"

One day after Lea Michele was accused of mistreating Samantha Marie Ware on the set of Glee, the actress took to Instagram to apologize for her actions. "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 faced," she began.

"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, 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."

However, Michele stated that she didn't "remember ever making this specific statement" in regards to the Samantha Marie Ware accusations, but she admitted she "clearly acted in ways which hurt other people." She added, "I apologize for my behavior and for any pain which I have caused."

Michele acknowledged she is "a couple of months from becoming a mother and [she] know [she] need[s] to keep working to better [herself] and take responsibility for [her] actions." Michele concluded the note by saying, "I will be better in the future from this experience." 

Here's hoping Michele learned her lesson.