Heather Morris finally opened up about why the Glee cast was “scared” about speaking up regarding Lea Michele.
Morris said during the recent Everything Iconic with Danny Pellegrino podcast, “It’s like, we absolutely could have stepped up and gone to the Fox execs and said how we felt about the situation and nobody really did. So now we are living in a culture where it’s acceptable to go do things like that, whereas I think many people were very scared. I know, genuinely, I didn’t feel like it was my place and I don’t know why, because I was a cast member just like everybody else, and we all deserve to feel comfortable on a set.”
The allegations against the actress who played Rachel Berry on the hit series first surfaced last June 2020 when Samantha Marie Ware, who played Jane Hayward in Glee tweeted, “LMAO REMEMBER WHEN YOU MADE MY FIRST TELEVISON [sic] GIG A LIVING HELL?!?! CAUSE ILL NEVER FORGET,” Ware tweeted in response. “I BELIEVE YOU TOLD EVERYONE THAT IF TOU HAD THE OPPORTUNITY YOU WOULD ‘S–T IN MY WIG!’ AMONGST OTHER TRAUMATIC MICROAGRESSIONS [sic] THAT MADE ME QUESTION A CAREER IN HOLLYWOOD…”
Her tweet went viral and also encouraged other Glee cast to speak up. Morris tweeted, “Let me be very clear, Hate is a disease in America that we are trying to cure, so I would never wish for that hate to be spread to anyone else. With that said, was she unpleasant to work with? Very much so; for Lea to treat others with the disrespect that she did for as long as she did, I believe she SHOULD be called out.”
Morris added, “And yet, it’s also on us because to allow it to go on for so long without speaking out is something else we’re learning along with the rest of society. But, at the current moment its implied that she is a racist and although I cannot comment on her beliefs, I think we’re assuming, and you know what happens when we all assume…”
According to Morris during the podcast, she faced criticisms for what she posted. She said, “I remember getting so much shade because people were like, ‘This is so f–king cryptic,’ like, ‘Why don’t you just go and say it?'”
“I’m like, ‘Guys, she’s pregnant, and all this stuff is going around, and,'” after pausing shortly added, “It’s true.”
She went on to say, “And I don’t know if maybe we were victims of bullying and that’s a typical victim thing to do, is to blame yourself, which is what people were saying. But it also is very true and the only person who was honest about it was Naya [Rivera]. And it was something that was very hush-hush on set. And now you see all these things coming out with these bigger names, who were very disrespectful and mistreated a lot of people and people allowed it to happen.”
Meanwhile, Morris explained, “We all got close with Lea at certain points and then we all weren’t as close with her. So there’s that human element to it to understanding who this person is, growing with that person, seeing her try to become better and, you know, taking care of herself after Corey[Monteith] passed.”
On the other hand, Morris said during the podcast that she hasn’t heard from Michele since the controversy erupted and added, “But I always wish her the best of luck.”
