Lea Michele apologises for "immaturity" after bullying allegations

By Neil Wilkes, Editor-in-chief

Published: June 3 2020 | 12:52

Last updated: July 12 2020 | 07:54

Glee's Lea Michele issues a lengthy apology after several former co-stars come forward to allege that she bullied them.

Lea Michele has issued a statement apologising for her "immaturity" and being "unnecessarily difficult" after she was accused of bullying by a number of former co-stars.

The allegations began after the Glee actress posted a tweet in support of the Black Lives Matter movement, prompting season six co-star Samantha Marie Ware to remind her that she had made her first ever TV role "a living hell".

Drag Race's Willam later claimed that he quit a planned role on the show due to Michele's "subhuman" treatment, while an extra came forward to allege that she told him he "didn't belong" on the same lunch table as the main actors.

In a lengthy statement on Instagram, the 33-year-old, who is pregnant with her first child, wrote: "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, 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.

"While I don't remember ever making this specific statement and I have never judged others by their background or color of their skin, that's not really the point, what matters is that I clearly acted in ways which hurt other people.

"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.

"We all can grow and change and I have definitely used these past several months to reflect my own shortcomings."

After Glee ended in 2015, Michele went on to have a part in Ryan Murphy's next series Scream Queens and most recently appeared in the TV movie Same Time, Next Christmas.