Former ‘Glee’ Actress Lea Michele Addresses Claims That She Created A Toxic Work Environment On Set: That Pressure Of Perfectionism Left Me W/ A Lot Of Blind Spots

Former ‘Glee’ Actress Lea Michele Addresses Claims That She Created A Toxic Work Environment On Set: That Pressure Of Perfectionism Left Me W/ A Lot Of Blind Spots

Lea Michele Sarfati has learned a lot over the years.

The former Glee actress, who is preparing for her Funny Girl on Broadway debut, recently opened up about the claims that she created a toxic work environment — particularly during her time on the Fox series.

Lea Michele Sarfati said,

“I have an edge to me. I work really hard. I leave no room for mistakes. That level of perfectionism, or that pressure of perfectionism, left me with a lot of blind spots.”

Samantha Ware & Lea Michele

It’s taken some “intense time of reflection,” but Lea Michele Sarfati shared that she now realizes that being a professional doesn’t, or at least it shouldn’t, stop when the cameras do. She added,

“I really understand the importance and value now of being a leader. It means not only going and doing a good job when the camera’s rolling, but also when it’s not. And that wasn’t always the most important thing for me.”

It’s been two years since former Glee actress Samantha Ware accused Lea Michele of, in her exact words, “making her first television gig a living hell.” The revelation came after Lea Michele spoke out against police brutality and racism following the death of George Floyd. In response, Samantha Ware said,

“LMAO REMEMBER WHEN YOU MADE MY FIRST TELEVISON GIG A LIVING HELL?!?! CAUSE ILL NEVER FORGET. I BELIEVE YOU TOLD EVERYONE THAT IF TOU HAD THE OPPORTUNITY YOU WOULD “SH*T IN MY WIG!” AMONGST OTHER TRAUMATIC MICROAGRESSIONS THAT MADE ME QUESTION A CAREER IN HOLLYWOOD…”

Samantha Ware appeared in 11 episodes of Glee in 2015 as Jane Hayward, and Michele had the role of Rachel Berry for the entire run of the show.

Though Lea Michele delivered a lengthy apology via Instagram, she ultimately suffered the consequences of her actions. In fact, meal delivery service HelloFresh dropped her as an ambassador shortly after the claims.

HelloFresh said,

“HelloFresh does not condone racism nor discrimination of any kind. We are disheartened and disappointed to learn of the recent claims concerning Lea Michele. We take this very seriously and have ended our partnership with Lea Michele, effective immediately.”

And Ware wasn’t the first person to speak out.

In 2016, former Glee actress Naya Rivera — who drowned in July 2020 during a boating trip with her son — mentioned how hard it was to work with Lea Michele on Glee in her memoir entitled ‘Sorry Not Sorry: Dreams, Mistakes and Growing Up’.

“If I’d complained about anyone or anything, she’d assume I was b*tching 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 6.”

Heather Morris, a Glee cast member, and Gerard Canonico, Michele‘s former Spring Awakening on Broadway co-star, have also accused the actress of not being the easiest person to work with.

Glee, an American musical comedy-drama television series aired on Fox for six seasons, from May 2009 to March 2015.

What are your thoughts on the entire situation? Let us know in the comments!

[VIA]