Samantha Ware claims Lea Michele threatened to have her fired

By Neil Wilkes, Editor-in-chief

Published: June 12 2020 | 10:12

Last updated: July 16 2020 | 14:27

Actress Samantha Ware reveals that Lea Michele threatened to have her fired from Glee.

Samantha Ware has detailed the treatment by Lea Michele that led her to call out the Glee actress for making her time on the show "a living hell".

In a tweet last month, Ware accused Michele, 33, of treating her badly on the set of the hit show, including an incident in which Michele allegedly threatened to 'shit in her wig'.

The social media post prompted many of Michele's other former co-stars to report their own run-ins with the actress, all detailing similar behaviour.

"I knew from day one when I attempted to introduce myself," Ware told Variety. "There was nothing gradual about it. As soon as she decided that she didn't like me, it was very evident.

"It was after I did my first performance, that's when it started – the silent treatment, the stare-downs, the looks, the comments under her breath, the weird passive aggressiveness. It all built up.

"Lea's actions were nothing new, so I guess since it was such a common thing, my case didn't seem like that big of a deal. I remember the first day I actually spoke up and unfortunately no-one did anything. They just shrugged it off, like 'That's her.'

"No-one was stopping these things, which is an issue because the environment was helping perpetuate this abuse."

Ware went on to recall an alleged incident where Michele left her humiliated after threatening to have her fired by show creator Ryan Murphy.

"She waited until the scene was over and she stopped in the middle of the stage and did a 'come here' gesture, like how a mother does to their child," she said. "I said 'no,' and that's when she decided to threaten my job, and said she would call Ryan Murphy in to come and fire me.

"It's scary. For the full week, I was thinking I'm probably going to get an email and I might not be able to do the last three episodes, or I might not be able to sing another song."

Michele issued an apology for past "immaturity" immediately after the first allegation was made but has maintained a social media silence since.