While many seemed to be 'scared' to speak up, the actress playing Brittany Pierce in the hit series admits that the late Naya Rivera was 'the only person who was honest' about the on-set bullying.
- May 28, 2021
AceShowbiz - Heather Morris has gotten candid about the controversy surrounding her former co-star Lea Michele. When opening up about her past experience working with the Rachel Berry depicter on "Glee", the actress famous for her portrayal of Brittany Pierce in the series admitted that her co-star's bad behavior on the set was kept "very hush-hush."
The 34-year-old actress spoke more on the controversy when appearing in the Wednesday, May 26 episode of "Everything Iconic with Danny Pellegrino" podcast. Speaking to host Danny Pellegrino, she admitted that her former co-star's alleged bad behavior "was something that was very hush-hush on set."
In the interview, Heather explained that Naya Rivera, who tragically drowned in July 2020 and had a long-rumored feud with Lea, was the only one who was honest about it. "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. But it also is very true, and the only person who was honest about it was Naya," she spilled.
"Now you see all these things coming out with these bigger names who were very disrespectful and mistreated a lot of people and people allowed it to happen. It's like, we absolutely could have stepped up and gone to the Fox execs and said how we felt about the situation and nobody really did," the "Dancing with the Stars" alum continued. "So now we are living in a culture where it's acceptable to go do things like that, whereas I think many people were very scared [at the time of 'Glee']."
Heather went on to add, "I know, genuinely, I didn't feel like it was my place and I don't know why, because I was a cast member just like everybody else." She further noted, "We all deserve to feel comfortable on a set."
Labeling Lea's bad behavior as an "elephant in the room," Heather explained, "We all got close with Lea at certain points, and then we all weren't as close with her. And so there's a human element to it to understanding who this person is, growing with that person, seeing her try to become better. And taking care of herself after [Corey Monteith] passed. You know, it was just the elephant in the room."
Back in May 2020, Lea got called out by Samantha Ware for her bullying. In its wake, she wrote a lengthy apology that read, "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."
The "Scream Queens" actress continued, "We all can grow and change and I have definitely used these past several months to reflect on my own shortcomings." She further stressed, "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."
However, in the podcast interview, Heather declared that she has not heard from Lea since the controversy. Still, she wished her "the best of luck" since her former co-star has "a little one at home," her 9-month-old son, with husband Zandy Reich.
