Claims of Lea Michele's bullying is the latest scandal to plague the show Glee, which include a child porn bombshell and several untimely deaths. Photos / Getty Images
The Glee curse has made its way to centre stage yet again, after reports its leading lady Lea Michele made life a "living hell" on set.
The 33-year-old actress played the show's anchor, Rachel Berry, the bubbly girl next door with a powerhouse voice, propelling Michele to superstardom since the show aired in 2009.
But yesterday her image came crumbling down with one tweet.
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Samantha Ware, who played Jane Hayward on the musical series for its sixth season in 2015, responded to a tweet written by Michele amid the riots in the US after George Floyd's death at the hands of police.
Michele wrote, "George Floyd did not deserve this. This was not an isolated incident and it must end. #BlackLivesMatter."
In a shocking response to the tweet, Ware publicly confronted Michele, alleging she made her time on the show a "living hell".
In her all-caps response to Michele's tweet, Ware wrote that she would "never forget" the "traumatic microaggressions" she claims to have received from Michele – including a shocking allegation that Michele had "told everyone that if you had the opportunity you would 's**t in my wig!'"
Ware, 28, was quickly backed by other Glee cast members by central cast members Alex Newell (who played Unique Adams) and Amber Riley (who played Mercedes Jones), who weighed in with not-so-cryptic responses.
Food company Hello Fresh almost immediately dropped Michele as an ambassador of the brand, putting out a statement that read: "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 tweeted from its official account. "We take this very seriously, and have ended our partnership with Lea Michele, effective immediately."
It came only two weeks after Michele posted about the brand.
Given she was the standout superstar of the show, it would be almost impossible to watch Glee under the same lens.
But it's certainly not the first time the show has been plagued by controversy and scandal, earning it the title of the "Glee curse".
Corey Monteith played Finn Hudson, the wholesome, much-loved quarterback and star of the Glee Club.
The Canadian actor, who scored the role when he was 27, became a household name and his fame only skyrocketed further when he began dating his on-screen girlfriend, Michele.
But in 2013, at the age of 31, his life was cut tragically short.
Monteith was found dead and alone in a hotel room after taking a fatal mix of heroin and alcohol – and from there, his sad history of drug abuse began to unravel.
The late TV star had reportedly been fighting a losing battle against addiction since he was a schoolboy, having begun using drugs at the age of just 13.
According to the documentary Autopsy: Corey Monteith, he dropped out of school at 16 after stealing from relatives to fund his addiction, and checked into rehab for the first time at 19.
Glee co-creator Ryan Murphy would later reveal that the cast and crew held an intervention for him on the Paramount lot, prompting another stint in rehab in March and April 2013.
Just three months later, his body was found alongside a hypodermic needle, spoon and two empty bottles of champagne.
Two months later, a then 26-year-old Michele made a tearful speech at the Teen Choice Awards, where she won Choice TV Actress: Comedy and dedicated it to Monteith.
"I wanted to dedicate this award to Cory. For all of you out there who loved and admired Cory as much as I did, I promise that with your love we're going to get through this together.
"He was very special to me and also to the world. We were very lucky to witness his incredible talent, his handsome smile and his beautiful, beautiful heart."
Mark Salling, who played endearing bad boy Noah 'Puck' Puckerman, was found after he died of an apparent suicide near his home in Los Angeles at the age of 35 in January 2018.
Fans all over the world were left reeling when news broke of Salling's arrest in late 2015. An ex-girlfriend tipped off authorities, who discovered more than 50,000 explicit photos and videos of children on his laptop and another 4000 on a flash drive.
The star was originally facing up to 20 years behind bars, but after taking a plea deal, was looking at spending four to seven years in jail.
But he took his own life only weeks before he was due to be sentenced.
Fellow Glee star Naya Rivera, who briefly dated Salling, opened up about his child porn charges in her 2016 tell-all book Sorry Not Sorry: Dreams, Mistakes & Growing Up, writing: "My son's nanny actually told me about it when the story broke. I can't say I was totally shocked, but still – WTF? Then I had no doubt that God really did have my back along the way.
"When Mark dumped me, I thought it was the worst thing ever, but can you imagine if that didn't happen? And I was laying there in bed when the battering ram came through the door?," she added.
Ware started an epic pile-on with this tweet yesterday.
Responding to fans who questioned the version of events, Newell wrote: "Child we ain't got not a damn thing to lie about six years later!"
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 “SHIT IN MY WIG!” AMONGST OTHER TRAUMATIC MICROAGRESSIONS THAT MADE ME QUESTION A CAREER IN HOLLYWOOD... https://t.co/RkcaMBmtDA
— SAMEYA (@Sammie_Ware) June 2, 2020
Riley tweeted several GIFs of herself throwing knowing glances as the original tweet gained traction on social media.
Popular drag queen and actor Willam Belli also weighed in, saying he left the set of Glee after Michele treated him "subhuman". Belli is understood to have been booked for an episode in 2012 but never ended up appearing on the series.
An extra actor named Dabier also detailed his experience after appearing in an episode of the show in 2014, responding to the tweet revealing Michele told him he "couldn't sit at her table" because he "didn't belong there".
— Amber Patrice Riley (@MsAmberPRiley) June 2, 2020
It was not the first time Michele has been hit with negative reviews of her workplace conduct.
During her time on Glee, rumours began to swirl Michele was difficult to work with.
She was regularly dogged by reports of a feud with her co-star, Rivera, who played tough cheerleader Santana Lopez on the hit teen series.
Many magazines also reported Michele didn't get along with Kate Hudson when she guest starred on the show, which they have also both denied.
One of its original stars, Rivera's real-life took a minor turn for the worse in late 2017 after she was arrested.
Late last year, E! reported that "Naya's friends and family are very concerned for her wellbeing" following an explosive incident with her husband, who she has a young son with.
The actor was arrested for misdemeanour domestic battery in November after allegedly assaulting Ryan Dorsey at their West Virginia home.
Breaking: @NayaRivera has officially been charged with domestic battery on her husband Ryan Dorsey. She was just arraigned and then released on a PR bond. Dorsey told deputies Naya hit him in the head and lip when they were taking their child for a walk. He has cellphone video. pic.twitter.com/5IJ1PNWfR4
— Jatara McGee WLWT (@jatara_) November 26, 2017
Dorsey claimed that Rivera struck him in the head and face, and hours after the alleged incident, her emotional court appearance was caught on camera for the world to see.
An insider told E! that "many people close to Naya are urging her to seek immediate help for the sake of her son and herself".
The charges against her were quickly dropped.
Rivera filed for divorce in December that year, which was finalised in June 2018.
In season four, Becca Tobin joined Glee full-time as cheerleader Kitty Wilde.
Just one year after Monteith's death, and with the cast still reeling, Tobin's entrepreneur boyfriend Matt Bendik was found dead in a hotel room in Philadelphia, aged 35.
The couple were on a business trip together at the time, and his body was discovered by a hotel maid. There were no links to drugs or alcohol.
Tobin remarried two years later to entrepreneur Zach Martin.
The Glee community was dealt another blow in early 2014 when production assistant Nancy Motes, Julia Roberts' half-sister, committed suicide.
After her death, one of her former colleagues on the show, Cristina Lageman, spoke out about the crew's heartbreak.
"It's just shocking. Yes, she had her own little struggles, but when we got together, we just bonded and she never let them get to her. It's such a shock, what with Cory passing last year, then we had a crew member, Jim Fuller, die (from a heart attack).
"Now we've got this hit and it's almost too much … Colleagues have been posting on Facebook: 'We've lost another one.'
"I've had a couple of messages from people saying how devastated they are – the third one in 12 months. A lot of us are like: 'Geez, what is this? It's the third one.' It's not like we're cursed, it's just wow, so weird. It's shocking."
We're going to bet she may think there is a curse after all.
Film distributor A24 used this to promote Celine Song's 'Materialists'.