Lea Michele issues apology after 'Glee' co-star Samantha Ware accused her of making her life 'a living hell'
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Lea Michele has issued an apology to her former "Glee" co-star Samantha Ware.
Michele, 33, was called out by Ware this week for making her life on the popular TV series a "living hell" by engaging in "traumatic" treatment on set. Ware's accusations came after Michele tweeted in support of the Black Lives Matter movement in the aftermath of George Floyd's death.
In a statement shared with People, Michele said she was sorry for causing any harm to Ware. She also said she didn't remember it but insisted that's "not really the point."
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"What matters is that I clearly acted in ways which hurt other people," Michele said. "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."
The actress shared the intention of her May 29 tweet, in which she wrote that Floyd's death was undeserved and "not an isolated incident" along with the hashtag #BlackLivesMatter.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"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," she said.
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Her statement continued: "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 on my own shortcomings."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}'Glee' cast members Jenna Ushkowitz, Chord Overstreet, Darren Criss, Melissa Benoist, Jacob Artist, Naya Rivera and Alex Newell. Bottom (L-R bottom) Blake Jenner, Lea Michele, Chris Colfer, Matthew Morrison, Jane Lynch, Becca Tobin and Kevin McHale. (Getty)
Michele also noted that she's months away from giving birth to her first child, and the events of the last few weeks have served as a reminder to "keep working to better myself and take responsibility for actions, so that I can be a role model for my child."
"I listened to these criticisms and I am learning and while I am very sorry, I will be better in the future from this experience," Michele concluded.
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{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Ware, 28, initially made the accusations on Twitter, in reply to Michele's tweet.
"LMAO REMEMBER WHEN YOU MADE MY FIRST TELEVISON GIG A LIVING HELL?!?! CAUSE ILL NEVER FORGET," she wrote. "I BELIEVE YOU TOLD EVERYONE THAT IF TOU HAD THE OPPORTUNITY YOU WOULD 'S--- IN MY WIG!' AMONGST OTHER TRAUMATIC MICROAGRESSIONS THAT MADE ME QUESTION A CAREER IN HOLLYWOOD…"
Ware's claims spawned other former "Glee" stars to come out of the woodwork with similar instances in which they claimed Michele treated them poorly. Cast member Alex Newell responded in support of Ware’s tweets with two gifs from "RuPaul’s Drag Race."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Meanwhile, actor Dabier, who had a guest role on the series, tweeted that Michele didn’t let him sit at a lunch table with other cast members when he was on set.
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"I’m with you my sister," he wrote in response to Ware’s tweet. "I had a similar experience with her that was distasteful."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}He later responded to Michele’s tweet writing: "WHEN I WAS ON THE SET OF GLEE YOU TOLD ME ‘I DIDNT BELONG THERE AT THE CAST LUNCH TABLE’ EVEN THO TWO OF THE OTHER CAST MEMEBERS WANTED ME TO SIT THERE!! F--- YOU LEA. YOU DONT GIVE A F---!"
Michele played Rachel Berry in all six seasons of the hit Fox musical comedy. Ware, meanwhile, had a guest recurring role as Jane Hayward in the sixth and final season in 2015, appearing in 11 episodes. Although the series was her first TV role, she’s since gone on to have parts in "What/If," "Chicago Med" and "God Friended Me."
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{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Naya Rivera, who played Santana Lopez, also wrote in her memoir "Sorry, Not Sorry" that she too had friction with Michele while filming "Glee."
"If I’d complained about anyone or anything, she’d assumed I was b----ing about her. Soon, she started to ignore me, and eventually it got to the point where she didn’t say a word to me for all of Season Six," Rivera wrote.
Fox News' Tyler McCarthy contributed to this report.