'Maybe We Were Victims': Heather Morris Addresses Former 'Glee' Costar Lea Michele's Alleged Bullying Behavior On Set
Heather Morris is reflecting on Lea Michele's past behavior on the Glee set following allegations that the Broadway star mistreated her costars.
Morris previously spoke out against Michele after costar Samantha Ware — who played Jane Hayward on Glee in 2015 — claimed last summer that the actress made her life a "living hell" on set of the musical series. At the time, Michele apologized in a statement, admitting she "clearly acted in ways which hurt people." She insisted she will "be better in the future from this experience."
After Michele's June 2020 statement, Morris chimed in, recalling that Michele was "very much so" unpleasant to work with. "for Lea to treat others with the disrespect that she did for as long as she did, I believe she SHOULD be called out," the Spring Breakers actress wrote on Twitter.
The 34-year-old candidly added that she and her costars are also to blame for not standing up for themselves. "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," she concluded.
During Morris' appearance on Everything Iconic with Danny Pellegrino this week, she was asked to expand on her previous comments. The blonde beauty told the host that she received backlash for her statement about Michele at the time because "people were like, 'This is so f**king cryptic. Why don't you just go out and say it?'"
However, Morris decided to bite her tongue and not directly address the situation because Michele, also 34, was pregnant while dealing with all of this drama, she said. As OK! reported, Michele and husband Zandy Reich welcomed her first baby, son Ever Leo, in August.
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While reflecting on why she stayed silent during her time on the show, Morris admitted: "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 people were saying."
"The only person who was honest about it was Naya," Morris added of the late Naya Rivera, who tragically drowned last July and had a long-running feud with Michele while filming. Rivera previously alleged in her 2016 Sorry Not Sorry book that her costar "didn’t like sharing the spotlight." She also claimed Michele "started to ignore me, and eventually it got to the point where she didn’t say a word to me for all of season 6."
Morris said she felt it wasn't her place to speak out about Michele's alleged toxic behavior back then. "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," Morris said.
Looking back, Morris said she and her costars could have spoken out and put an end to Michele's alleged bullying. "We absolutely could have stepped up and gone to the Fox execs and said how we felt about the situation, but no one did. … I think many people were very scared," she confessed. "I don't know why — because I was a cast member just like everybody else. We all deserve to feel comfortable on a set."
And while Morris hasn't spoken to her controversial former costar since she issued her apology, Morris said she will "always wish her the best of luck."
Michele hasn't addressed the allegations since last summer, but a source dished that the mother-of-one felt her cast mates had a "lack of respect" for their beloved show.
"She has a type-A perfectionist personality and felt constantly tested by the constant partying on set, especially after Cory Monteith's death," said the source, referring to the late actor's death from a 2013 accidental overdose. "It became intolerable for Lea and contributed to her behavior."
