Lea Michele tried to do a tweet about racism and George Floyd, only to have it blow up in her face spectacularly. The backlash began when Samantha Marie Ware, a former Glee guest-star, tweeted that Lea actually threatened to “sh-t in her wig” among other “microaggressions” which caused Samantha to question her career. Lea’s other former costars (on Glee and other shows) piled on and backed up Ware’s story and more. Then, within the same newscycle, Lea’s corporate sponsorship with HelloFresh was terminated, and HelloFresh said it was specifically for Lea’s racism. So… what’s new? Lea went to People Magazine to perform her apology.
Lea Michele is apologizing for past behavior after her Glee costar Samantha Marie Ware accused her of “tormenting” her on the set of the musical TV series. Michele, 33, says in a statement exclusively shared with PEOPLE that while she does not remember making the specific remarks that Ware says she made, that is “not really the point.”
“What matters is that I clearly acted in ways which hurt other people,” Michele says, explaining the importance of listening and learning from those who she might have hurt in the past.
“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,” Michele says. “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.”
“While I don’t remember ever making this specific statement and I have never judged others by their background or color of their skin, that’s not really the point,” Michele’s statement continues. “What matters is that I clearly acted in ways which hurt other people.”
“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.”
“I am a couple of months from becoming a mother and I know I need to keep working to better myself and take responsibility for my actions, so that I can be a real role model for my child and so I can pass along my lessons and mistakes, so that they can learn from me,” she concludes. “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.”
This is a lot: “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…” Well. So is she acknowledging her “privileged position” or saying that it’s just people who PERCEIVE her as “insensitive or inappropriate”? It’s just a mess, honestly, and I don’t know what to say here. She deserves no cookies for this, although I guess a vague apology is a start. But to be clear, she was accused of being racist and a terrible coworker and she makes it sound like people are just misremembering things but she’ll work on getting people to perceive her differently. It’s not a good statement.
Photos courtesy of WENN.
I wonder if she would be apologizing if Hello Fresh hadn’t dropped her and if so many hadn’t backed up Samantha Ware
exactly. she has long been rumored for being a mean girl on set. this response isn’t surprising. it’s a non-apology for getting hurt via losing endorsements. she’s trying to protect herself. she has zero self awareness as to what she has done to hurt people. she is likely stomping around at home because she can’t believe people are treating her this way and she’s so misunderstood. i hope more people come out and tell the truth.
She wouldn’t be. Naya Rivera has been saying this about Lea for years with no response.
Also, let’s be clear about what she is saying here:
“it was my privileged position and perspective that caused me to be perceived as insensitive or inappropriate at times”
“her privileged position” is her whiteness and her lead role
“perceived as insensitive or inappropriate” questions what her victims heard and saw
She’s using her whiteness to victim blame her black coworkers.
she definitely would not be. LM seems like an awful person.
Oh that’s bad. That’s sooooo bad. That is Bad Apology Hall of Fame bad!!!!
Did her publicist quit??
right!?!? that’s as bad as someone saying, “I’m sorry you feel that way”.
Non apology apologies are insulting and frusterating.
Take ownership of your words or just not speak.
If not, her publicist should be fired. “I have never judged others by their background or color of their skin”. Yes – yes you have. You do it every day. We all do – that’s the point here.
https://www.katykatikate.com/the-blog//2018/01/the-katykatikate-guide-to-apologies.html
Lea Michelle’s problems started a long time ago when she became a teenage Broadway star. Her parents created a monster and she’s been a brat ever since.
@bananapanda
Thank you for that
I’ve bookmarked it
I couldn’t get through it all in one go because it was hard for me to read
I’m am the absolute worst apologiz-er EVER
She’s placing the blame on others for “perceiving” her, a woman of privilege, to be nasty and mean when in reality she was just immature? I think the term for this is gaslighting. She’s attempting to change the narrative and other people’s experience of her to suit her own needs right now. What an a-hole.
I mean, this is pretty standard as far as non apologies go. It’s a really bad version of “I’m sorry if anyone was offended”.
I wasn’t really expecting anything different. She’s clearly racist AF, so it’s not like anything good was going to come out of her mouth.
@meeeee, everything you said.
She needs to take a seat and shut up. Just apologize and go talk to an activist! She has the money to hire a facilitator to come to her house to explain the realities of racism so that she doesn’t have to go to former coworkers who she clearly doesn’t respect. She doesn’t want to feel uncomfortable. And those former coworkers of color aren’t responsible for educating her dumb ass. She needs to do the work, but she won’t unless forced by losing work.
Right, I’ve heard the same stories about Lea for years, was never absolutely sure if they were rumors or true, but I guessed they were probably true. She needs a psychiatrist. There’s no reason for rudeness and putting down others. It proves she has some big issues. I’m very glad she is now having to be labeled for what she is and for all the harm she has caused. I don’t for one minute feel her apology is authentic, but more for damage control to her brand. I won’t support her in anything after this. Girl needs help to figure herself out.
Is this the first time she’s confirmed/acknowledged that she’s pregnant? A while back when the People article announcing her pregnancy came out, she didn’t say anything personally. I bet she thinks the headlines will be “Lea Michele Pregnant! Apologizes for past behavior” or some s*it. As if that paragraph about “I’m about to be a mother” is the most important. Like we’re all going to focus on that. Ha!
No. She has officiallyu confirmed and there is few photos on instagram of her cradling her bump.
She’s been posting endless photos cradling her growing stomach on Instagram
This is the only kind of, ‘no quarter,’ I support.
She HAD to mention the fact that she’s going to be a mother…
AS A MOTHER, yeah that part really stuck out. Of course I’ve never threatened to poop in someone’s wig or anywhere involving another person so what do I know, really?
(I do love the looks I get when “being a mom” is not the achievement I am most proud of. I’ve done other things than shoot a human from my body, thanks)
@Meghan – Your comment made me laugh. Of course the fact that a woman can “shoot a human from my body” is no big deal since most women have this capability. However, you’re forgetting the fact that you have brought a new human being into the world, not a paperweight or a beach ball. I take exception to you equating birthing a baby is “being a mom,” and feel bad that for you it’s “not the achievement I am most proud of.”
Birthing the child is the EASY part. Being a mother is much harder. As a mom you actually have the power and the ability (more so, the responsibility) to properly raise a human being that will go out into our world as an educated and socially aware individual. You must understand the duty you have to influence that child’s mind for the GOOD of all mankind. Personally, I think Lea Michele’s “growing up environment” was tainted or she wouldn’t have developed the core values she now possesses (i.e., racism, classism) …and that falls DIRECTLY back onto her parents, the people who instilled her foundation during her formative years.
So I strongly disagree with your implication or misguided belief (?) that being a (good) mom is not something to aspire to/be very proud of. Your child’s environment ideally must include teaching them acceptance of all races, ethnicities, and religions (within reason), and how to embrace others’ differences so that our world can become the best – certainly not the MESS we have now.
Maybe LM has become more self-aware now that she’s about to give birth. It doesn’t excuse her prior behaviors and her stupid, canned apology, but perhaps she’s done some soul-searching and realizes she can make a change for the better and teach her child right. We can only hope.
@Hoot, reread Meghan’s comment. Nowhere does she say she isn’t proud to be a mom or equate raising a baby with bringing an inflatable ball to a pool party. She’s just admitting she has accomplished more than being a mother, which is commendable. It is perfectly acceptable for women to want to be remembered as more than being someone’s mom.
@Meghan – As a childless woman who has accomplished several goals in her life but like clockwork, the first thing she is asked at any social function is “So do you have any kids?”, I thank you.
It’s cool though. It’s actually gotten amusing. I just very plainly say, “No.” with no further explanation. The reactions are hilars.
@Hoot, I’m a mom, I love my kids with everything I have, and they’re amazing people I feel privileged to have the opportunity to raise. However, I was a whole person before I had them, and I’m a whole person now. “Mom” is just one hat I wear. It’s okay for different women to feel differently about motherhood, and it doesn’t detract from *your* experience if another mom has a different one. Being a good mom is incredibly important to me, but I don’t count it as an achievement. If someone asked what I’m most proud of, the answer would depend on the environment. I’m not going to tell my boss that my proudest achievement is being a mother; I have professional accomplishments to tout as well.
Ugh, she apologizes by placing her gaslighting in there – ‘I might have actually been perfect and it might have actually been the very wrong perceptions of others that made perfect me look bad’.
She used the word “perceived” way too many times for this to be sincere.
“I didn’t threaten to poop in your wig. You PERCEIVED that I threatened to poop in your wig. We just have different perspectives. BTW, I’m going to be a Mom soon so cut me some slack.” – Lea, basically.
Exactly. Worst apology ever
LOL yep.
This just digs the hole deeper as far as I’m concerned – like to the pits of hell. Awful. I can’t imagine anyone hiring her again.
I mean….are you surprised? Of course she’s not going to come out and admit she said all those things. She still needs to paint herself as good so she gets work. And of course it would make her look bad if she denied it when so many people can back up Samantha on it. So of course she makes a half apology. A “sorry if you were offended” type of apology.
And why the hell can’t these people make their apologies to the person they’ve harmed? Nope, it has to go out on social media which then ends any responsibility the offensive one might have. Personally, I would not accept a social media proffered apology, I’d find it very insincere. Am I alone in thinking this? Is social media now considered acceptable communication?
I despise social media. I refuse to read the propaganda and disguised hatred.
Maybe if she picked up the damn phone and apologized directly to the people she perceives as having offensive perceptions of her instead of whining to People that their perceptions were wrong, then she might lessen the world’s perception of her as a racist attention hog. Just my perception
“Performed her apology” sums it up perfectly. And what a wretched little performance it was.
Yeah…that ‘apology’ was a dick move.
“Apparently people perceived me to be a racist bitch, which I really don’t remember. Anyway, hashtag BLM.”
LMAO – sums it up pretty much!
Perfect!
Yeah, this wasn’t good. I hate the part of myself that enjoys these online celebrity takedowns but this one seems very justified.
Her idol Barbra Streisand is side eyeing her from the mall in her mansion right now.
I love this comment so much lmao!!
She will never achieve that level of stardom. She has been pissing people off since she was a teenager. Never forget Jessica putting her in her place on the red carpet..
First of all – when you apologize, you just do it. You don’t do this circular word salad of “people’s perception of you” or some other b**shit. This kind of stuff irritates me to NO end!! When you hurt someone, you don’t say – I am sorry you feel that way! That takes the responsibility OFF your actions towards this person! The rumors surrounding Lea Michele being a diva/asshole on set have been around for years, and I didn’t even watch Glee much. Obviously, she is only doing this because she lost the sponsorship of Hello Fresh (kudos to them for quickly dropping her!). Some people just need to STFU – she’s one of them!
When an apology starts with “we need to” you know its going to be bad.
Lea, you’re just a mean bitch but lucky for you celebrity motherhood will white wash your sins. Ugh, I’m so exhausted w all of this bs.
This might be perceived as insensitive, but that last picture of her smiling is going to haunt me in my dreams tonight.
“…how my own behavior towards fellow cast members was perceived by them.” Wow, gaslight much? The word “perceived” should never appear in a genuine apology.
Telling people you’re sorry they “perceived” you a certain way is a total non-apology and it’s completely gaslighting their feeling and first-hand experiences with her. She has learned nothing.
She doesn’t remember, probably because she did so many horrible things on the set of Glee, it was hard to keep track.
Exactly my thought! I feel like if I told a group of people AT WORK that I would shit in a fellow coworker’s wig, I would remember saying that. And since Lea isn’t saying it’s not true……well, she must be aware that there are only more people who will back up Samantha’s experience so she’s swerving, saying she doesn’t remember saying it at all, no realizing how THAT is gonna be perceived.
Exactly. And there are a million stories of her being awful OFF the set. When that’s your MO, I’m sure it is difficult to remember which situation this was.
First, this is so clearly a word salad PR marketing spin statement dreamed up by some flunky at her agent or manager request. Also why just not say, “I was a mean bitch to everyone because of an inflated sense of importance and now that I’m an almost nobody I realize that being a mean bitch is a big mistake”. And then personally apology to everyone and disappear for a while..
I hope it’s because no decent PR firm would help her.
Typical abuser move. Pretending you don’t remember the abuse you inflicted on someone. I had a boss like this a couple of years ago. One time he even apologized to me after one of his rages and literally five minutes later when he saw that I was still upset he yelled, “What? I don’t know what I did!!!”
I’m surprised this did not include a photo of her from her wedding.
LMAO. This made my day!
HA! Wedding photo paired with belly cupping photo. Add a C Monteith photo and you have a trifecta.
Yes, I’m surprised she didn’t say, “this was during the time I was struggling with the loss of Cory” in here too.
I was coming here to post the same thing!
Where’s the wedding photo???
“While I don’t remember making this specific statement….” How much racist, bullying vitriol has she spouted that she can’t remember the VERY memorable “I will shit in her wig” hmm????? Lemme paraphrase this whole shitpile of a gaslighting “apology” for you guys: “Sorry you were offended by my racist comments! Which I totally didn’t say! Also I was an immature kid. Come on guys, be nice, I’m going to be a mommmmmm soon!!!!” She can fuck all the way off.
Lol you’re right, of course she remembers, she just doesn’t remember whether she said “shit” or “poop.” Of course, maybe she’s so awful this one doesn’t stand out among her other threats like “I will kill your dog”, or “I will run your grandmother over with a car.”
This is a long time coming. She was reportedly a nightmare when she was doing stage work. She was angling to do a remake of “Funny Girl” for years, even singing “Don’t Rain On My Parade” (off key) at the Tonys a few years ago. Funny how nobody else wanted to make it (other than her or possible Ryan Murphy).
I remember thinking years ago that “Don’t Rain on My Parade” was a weird choice for that performance. Makes more sense if she was angling for that remake.
Ugh. I have never ever liked her. Everything she’s ever said or done is self-aggrandizing, even her apologies.
Back in the late great days of Fashion Police, Joan Rivers was constantly mocking her for her pushiness and ridiculous preening at events.
One time Jessica Lange just walked by one of Lea’s red carpet posing performances without acknowledging her, to Lea’s embarrassment. Funny stuff.
I remember Jessica Lange’s walk-by, and it was so great. LM doing her regular pose hard, and JL had no time to watch and she certainly wasn’t waiting in line behind her. It was glorious; a Queen ignoring an irritant.
The Jessica Lange meme is in the meme hall of fame.
This woman and those like her need therapy. Get help! You’re an awful human being. It’s okay to admit that because we’re all flawed. But I just need this mental illness in their heads to GO AWAY. Can conversion therapy work on racists?
Her non-apology was epically bad. What is up with her and all of the People exclusives? Are they writing her apologies?
I never watched Glee and know nothing except what’s written here about this woman. She has the worst veneers of all the bad veneers. Karma definitely caught up with that mouth.
“I never watched Glee” you’re lucky! worst show ever.
I did use to be a big Gleek…even though the show got more messier and frustrating as the seasons went on. I officially gave up after season 5 and never tuned into season 6 (except for the finale for nostalgic reasons)…but definitely knowing of all the backstage drama (Lea being a raging a-hole to everyone), Mark being a pedophile, Cory’s addictions, Blake being an abuser etc have really tainted the memory. I cant see myself re-watching the show and actively feeling any joy.
A non-apology from a historically awful person. She deserves all the backlash.
Perhaps one of the worst non apologies that I have ever read. She def has revealed her true colors. I will pray for her baby.
“Whether it was my privileged position and perspective that caused me to be perceived as insensitive or inappropriate at times…”
I’m gonna stop you right there.
I’m pretty sure it was threatening to take a dump in a Black woman’s wig that caused you to be perceived as inappropriate.
KL, this was the laugh I really needed today. Thank you!
I can’t with this ‘apology’. But yesterday’s story got me wondering: where was Ryan Murphy during all this? He was her boss and could’ve put a stop to all of it.
I have the sneaking suspicion that Murphy sees himself as a diva-hiring port-of-call for truly hateful actresses like Roberts and Michelle. Kinda like having late-stage Joan Crawford permanently locked down career-wise. They are dependent on him for work…and he can pay them whatever he wants because no one else will hire them. Brilliant…in a industry-awful way.
By saying it could be something other than privilege, she’s still not acknowledging her privilege. At least she’s admitting she was an asshole in the very least, racism or not.
She’s not sorry, she’s pissed that everyone now knows the truth about her,
‘unnecessarily difficult’ is the new “conscious uncoupling”.
Oh, she’s racist AND an idiot? Impressive.
At least you get the satisfaction of seeing how much she’s managed to wreck her face with surgery in just ten years. Karma face if I’ve seen one.
Whatever she has done has made her look much older. She is just 33 but imo looks much older…pulled taut, then frozen. When even your eyebrows don’t dare move, you might want to ease off the epoxy.
This is the same woman who was upset that she did not get the lead in West Side Story. That the part went to a Latina actress. I mean, she learned Spanish and everything. *stares*
You only have to look at her once to easily identify her as the same type of girl that used to roll her eyes and make fun of any kid that wasn’t in her “clique” in school. Never liked her.
I don’t want to be that person, and I *Know* this is not a truly important question, but…..
Jane (Samantha’s role on Glee) was one of the main characters on the last season, but Samantha was only a guest star and not a series regular?
‘I am going to work on helping you understand me better.’ LOL
I love how she only made her ‘apology’ after being dropped from Hello Fresh. There was no way she would have apologized otherwise. Plus, come on, can you really even call that an apology?? I call BS on what she says.
Could she be any more offensive? I sincerely hope and look forward to witnessing her career being shut down from this point forward. Paula Deen 2.0.
Why hasn’t anyone that worked with her ever called her out on her bull$hit before now? I hope they weren’t scared of this twat. When she was on Glee, she was not a bigger star than anyone else. So glad that someone stepped up to the plate finally and swung for the fences on her racist and condescending behavior.
This is what narcissistic abuse and gaslighting look like.
Being pregnant doesn’t make your past terrible behavior disappear into thin air. She’s weaksauce but at least her getting dragged is entertaining.
That apology was weirdly aggressive and the way it ended seemed like she was issuing some weird challenge about how she is for sure going to be better from this. She needs a lesson in how to apologize and be humble.
It’s so weird because the class claimed to be close. Even after the first season…although some are closer than others or started to make Hollywood friends (Lea did and so did Dianna, etc).
She couldn’t always been like this? But apparently she was difficult on Spring Awakening. I feel like she might not be too smart which she admitted not too long ago.
Her high school was actually shut down and she didn’t find her place at school until debate team and that even then her teammates where smarter than her, she just “talked a lot”. She’s also an only child…maybe there’s some only child syndrome in there (not that all only children are like this).
Her parents def dropped the ball a little on her parenting and I think she was spoiled by her extended family as well. She also must have a warped idea of what an artist or top actor is. She probably thinks she’s like a Streisand or someone who has been labeled a diva, demanding and quirky but is a good artist…tried to emulate that…but comes across as rude instead! Pity, I really liked her! I have her albums. She’s friends with ppl like Jamie Lynn Sigler and JoAnna Garcia and on the set of Glee the girls talked about sharing a trailer and their good times together. When did all go so wrong?
Was it after the show blew up? Dysfunction happens top down and Ryan Murphy was the show co-creator, runner and the boss. He dismissed drama and saw them as ‘kids’ but they were in their 20s! He possibly allowed some of the drama to happen. I don’t think she’s necesario una racist. Maybe equal opportunity diva. I hope she really has matured and can make amends.
Im sure it probably started at an young age where she was constantly told of how great and amazing she was. (Whether that be of parents, talent agencies, coaches etc)That probably inlfated her ego. And if nobody ever told her NO…then Im sure that just escalated matters.
Be gone.
I was young. I don’t remember. I’m sorry you were offended. DON’T BULLY A PREGNANT WOMAN!
I mean she didn’t even SING the crap apology