In June, following George Floyd‘s death, Michele publicized her support of the Black Lives Matter movement and called for an end to deaths like Floyd’s.
In response to her tweet, several of the actress’ former Glee co-stars spoke out about their alleged experiences with Michele on set, including Samantha Marie Ware, who appeared on Glee as Jane Hayward, a recurring character during the show’s sixth season.
“LMAO REMEMBER WHEN YOU MADE MY FIRST TELEVISON [sic] GIG A LIVING HELL?!?! CAUSE ILL NEVER FORGET,” Ware tweeted at the time. “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…”
Michele followed with an apology posted to Instagram. “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,” her statement began.
She added, “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 toward fellow cast members was perceived by them.”
