Lea Michele apologizes after Samantha Marie Ware accuses her of making ‘Glee’ a ‘living hell’
The exchange began after Michele posted a message on social media Friday, “George Floyd did not deserve this. This was not an isolated incident and it must end,” she wrote. Michele included the hashtag #BlackLivesMatter.
Ware responded to Michele’s tweet and wrote she’ll never forget the way she felt Michele treated her during their time working together on “Glee,” calling it a “living hell.”
Michele’s partnership with HelloFresh was terminated by the company following Ware’s comments
“HelloFresh does not condone racism nor discrimination of any kind. We are disheartened and disappointed to learn of the recent claims concerning Lea Michele,” the company announced on social media.
“What matters is that I clearly acted in ways which hurt other people,” Michele said in a statement posted on 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.”
“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,” Michele continued. “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.”
Michele said she doesn’t remember “ever making this specific statement.”
Ware played a recurring role as Jane Hayward in the sixth season of the show, starting in 2015. She appeared in 11 episodes.
Michele played main cast member Rachel Berry throughout all six seasons of “Glee.”
CNN has reached out to representatives for Michele and Ware for further comment.