Naya Rivera was the only person to call out Lea Michele on Glee set, says Heather Morris
Lea Michele and Naya Rivera in Glee. (FOX Image Collection via Getty)
Glee star Heather Morris has revealed that the late Naya Rivera was the “only person honest” about Lea Michele’s alleged bad behaviour on set.
Last year, Michele was plagued by accusations from former co-stars about her behaviour on the set of Glee, with Samantha Ware, who played Jane Hayward in the show’s sixth season, claiming she made the time they worked together a “living hell”.
Heather Morris said Naya Rivera, who passed away in July, 2020, in a drowning accident, was the only cast member to call Michele out on set.
“The only person who was honest about it was Naya,” she told the Everything Iconic with Danny Pellegrino podcast.
“It was something that was very hush-hush on set.
“Now you see all these things coming out, these bigger names who were disrespectful and mistreated a lot of people, and people allowed that to happen.
“I know, genuinely, I didn’t feel like it was my place. I don’t know why — because I was a cast member just like everybody else.
“We all deserve to feel comfortable on a set.”
Lea Michele last year issued a lacklustre apology for how her behaviour was “perceived”, but Morris, who played Brittany S Pierce on the show, insisted that the star should be called out.
Morris wrote on Twitter at the time: “Was she unpleasant to work with? Very much so; for Lea to treat others with the disrespect that she did for as long as she did, I believe she SHOULD be called out.”
She added: “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.”
A year later, reflecting on her comments, Morris told the podcast that she received “so much shade” for her tweets.
“People were like, ‘This is so f**king cryptic’,” she said.
“‘Why don’t you just go out and say it?’
“And I’m like, ‘Guys, she’s pregnant, and all this stuff is going around.’ It’s true.
“And 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.”
