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DC was busy promoting the upcoming Netflix miniseries Hollywood, and also discussed other projects in a recent interview (Part 1 and Part 2), including the Broadway production of American Buffalo, which is of course in limbo at this time; Laurence Fishburne, Sam Rockwell and him are still rehearsing it virtually (on the theory I think that a 3-person cast is easier to put back on the rails than a big musical or a large scale play).

However, these will certain be scaled back in the short term since DC's father has just died.

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39 minutes ago, Florinaldo said:

Is RM teasing or trolling with this one? Or perhaps a little bit of both...

In the meantime, here is a short clip previewing the Superman animated movie in which DC voices Clark Kent/Kal-El.

 

Well, the next night he posted this which had been sent to him.

And try to read the comments. Some of the Glee cast joined in, Dot Jones (Coach Beaste) offered. And he did comment that any of the original cast would be welcomed.

 

I do get the impression he might very well be serious. Just remember the entire series is on Netflix, and he does have an exclusive production deal with Netflix.

 

 

Edited by theschnauzers
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I had read the comments and I could not be sure if perhaps it might a private joke other people were on. People do strange things to pass the time in this confinement period. Besides, teasing and gently trolling can be closely related in some circumstances.

53 minutes ago, theschnauzers said:

he does have an exclusive production deal with Netflix.

Excellent point. We will just have to wait and see then.

Edited by Florinaldo
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I’m doing the 30 days of glee song challenge on my insta stories and it’s been a great challenge reflect on some of the song choices. I’m rewatching Degrassi now but Glee may be next. 

6834B010-DCAD-4EC3-9128-789DCA037DD4.jpeg

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Well well, this is interesting. Lea Michele Accused of Making ‘Glee’ a ‘Living Hell’ for Co-Star Samantha Marie Ware.

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Two days later, Ware quoted Michele’s tweet, claiming the “Glee” star told her she’d “s— in [her] wig” while on the show.

“Remember when you made my first television gig a living hell?!?! Cause I’ll never forget. I believe you told everyone that if you had the opportunity you would ‘s— in my wig!’ amongst other traumatic microaggressions that made me question a career in Hollywood,” Ware tweeted in all caps.

Other “Glee” cast members, including Alex Newell, Amber Riley and Dabier Snell, also reacted to the accusations, showing support for Ware and casting more doubt on Michele.

 

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There are two sides to every story but I’ve been hearing rumblings about Lea’s diva attitude since her Spring Awakening days. Even a young Hailee Steinfeld had a story about a run in with her.

There’s a story when a reporter(?) asked who is most like their Glee character, everyone answered Lea.

 It seems her coworkers either love her or hate her. I don’t believe Samantha is her only target. Look up Naya Rivera and Dianna Agron.

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2 hours ago, Snow Apple said:

There are two sides to every story but I’ve been hearing rumblings about Lea’s diva attitude since her Spring Awakening days. Even a young Hailee Steinfeld had a story about a run in with her.

There’s a story when a reporter(?) asked who is most like their Glee character, everyone answered Lea.

 It seems her coworkers either love her or hate her. I don’t believe Samantha is her only target. Look up Naya Rivera and Dianna Agron.

Alex co-signed this tweet. And Amber/Kevin seems like they wanted to comment also but weren't ready to do so.

We always heard RM took inspiration from the actors in the roles, so....

 

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And Lea's co-star from The Mayor, Yvette Nicole Brown, has also spoken out about Samantha's tweet. Billy Lewis (Mason) also tweeted support, and Melissa Benoist has liked all of the tweets. 

So I'd say that the evidence is stacking up against Lea and it's not surprising. I think Lea's always had a diva label to her, and it's definitely carried with her all this time for a reason. 

Honestly, when I read this last night, I was not shocked in any way. 

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And now HelloFresh has reportedly cut ties with her.

eta that I don't think Lea is racist like the media is trying to spin this. I hope not anyway. I think she's just a "mean girl" when it comes to people she doesn't like or are threatened by or have nothing to offer her.

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49 minutes ago, Snow Apple said:

And now HelloFresh has reportedly cut ties with her.

eta that I don't think Lea is racist like the media is trying to spin this. I hope not anyway. I think she's just a "mean girl" when it comes to people she doesn't like or are threatened by or have nothing to offer her.

She can be both. She doesn't have to hate Black/POC for her to have racist view and tendencies, like most people, but unlike most people, she had the power/privilege to express those views/feelings, because she didn't fear or expect consequences. And honestly, she was right. 

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I’m not sure I think Lea is a racist (although how would I know), I do think she’s an asshole though and her bad attitude seems aimed at anyone who she views as beneath her or a threat to her stardom and that in itself is pretty dangerous.

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1 hour ago, Avabelle said:

I’m not sure I think Lea is a racist (although how would I know), I do think she’s an asshole though and her bad attitude seems aimed at anyone who she views as beneath her or a threat to her stardom and that in itself is pretty dangerous.

That’s how I’m feeling too. It’s easy to view this as being racist given the current conditions, but it was established from the beginning that she had ego issues, it’s a question if the casual non Gleek was aware of that. She’s talented enough, but clearly wanted to be the lead in an ensemble show.

 

i wouldn’t say that the other actors were “casting doubt” on Michele as the article wrote above. It’s more “well thank GOD someone finally said it loud enough to gain traction and I can sub tweet my full support.” 

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14 minutes ago, mtlchick said:

it’s a question if the casual non Gleek was aware of that.

I think most people were aware of the rumors about Lea, especially when Glee was still a thing. It's just a case of one of those things were some believed it, others saw it as tabloids being sexist and always wanting to make a woman a diva if she's popular and others felt there may have been some truth to the stories but it was exaggerated a bit for effect. 

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14 hours ago, mtlchick said:

It’s easy to view this as being racist given the current conditions, but it was established from the beginning that she had ego issues, it’s a question if the casual non Gleek was aware of that.

Usually, divas are equal opportunity bullies toward those they perceive as a threat to their position of dominance whatever their race, sexual orientation or age. So this may be a settling of old scores or workplace clashes, the current events being only a pretext for bringing it up. But of course we will never truly know the whole story one way or another.

I thnk other former cast and crew members would be wise to stay out of it and let these two play it out between themselves, or let it die down.

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To me, her apology shows she is well aware of her behavior. Otherwise she would claim it never happened and she would never say anything like that. Claim she doesn’t even know what “s*** in your wig” even means so how could she have said that.
But apologizing and claiming to working on being a better person? Yeah.

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30 minutes ago, Snow Apple said:

To me, her apology shows she is well aware of her behavior. Otherwise she would claim it never happened and she would never say anything like that. Claim she doesn’t even know what “s*** in your wig” even means so how could she have said that.
But apologizing and claiming to working on being a better person? Yeah.

For me, it sounds like her apology is a crafted one from her PR team (hence why it took her over a day to issue one), filled with a lot of "I'm sorry...BUUUUUT" statements. It feels like her apology went down a list of things to say in an apology:

1) Mention not remembering the statement made

2) Telling people that you'll be better and you'll grow from this experience

3) Mention being a mother and wanting to be a good role model to your child

4) Mention hurting people (but don't directly mention who!) and how they perceived your words to be hurtful

5) THEN say the words "I'm sorry" at some point near the end

I just kept reading it but didn't feel like those were Lea's words in any way. It just sounds too scripted. I'd need to see Lea take action over whatever she has stated here. 

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Oh yes. I didn't think she wrote it but assumed she gave the gist of what to say to the writer to clean up. But I wouldn't be surprised if she wasn't involved at all and it was all the publicist and writer. I can see her being mad instead of apologetic that her house of cards is falling apart.

There were whispers before but Samantha was loud and clear and the timing was perfect. I wonder if Samantha had a clue how big it would get and people are on her side instead of defending the better known Lea.

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This Lea  “apology” was hilarious.  
 

“...caused me to be perceived as insensitive...”

I agree it’s not necessarily racism.  However, if you’re insensitive and dismissive of your colleagues /crew then posting an empathetic tweet for an outside event emphasizing your “concern” would elicit a backlash from said colleagues.

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Another story.. I wonder if we’ll get many more..

"You were nothing but a nightmare to me and fellow understudy cast members. You made us feel like we didn't belong there. I tried for years to be nice to you to no avail. Mayne actually apologize instead of placing the blame on how others 'perceive' you," he wrote.

http://www.justjared.com/2020/06/03/broadways-gerard-canonico-says-lea-michele-was-a-nightmare-to-him-during-spring-awakening/

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Yeah, I'm leaning towards it not being racism, but her being an equal opportunity asshole to many she has worked with?

It is telling that even if other cast members are not jumping in, quite a few - both black and white - seem to subtly be supporting Samantha's comments.

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This Lea  “apology” was hilarious.  
 

“...caused me to be perceived as insensitive...”

Don't you just hate it when you acting like an asshole causes others to perceive you as being an asshole?

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It seems her coworkers either love her or hate her. I don’t believe Samantha is her only target. Look up Naya Rivera and Dianna Agron.

I actually read Naya's book. But even for a personal account of her life when she controlled the entire narrative, she still came across as delusional so it was difficult to know how much of it to take seriously. 

I am also on the side of Lea definitely being an asshole but probably not being racist. It seems like she was terrible to anyone outside of her chosen inner circle. I would be interested in hearing more from Amber Riley though.

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39 minutes ago, Avabelle said:

Another story.. I wonder if we’ll get many more..

"You were nothing but a nightmare to me and fellow understudy cast members. You made us feel like we didn't belong there. I tried for years to be nice to you to no avail. Mayne actually apologize instead of placing the blame on how others 'perceive' you," he wrote.

http://www.justjared.com/2020/06/03/broadways-gerard-canonico-says-lea-michele-was-a-nightmare-to-him-during-spring-awakening/

Looks like understudies, extras, and minor guest stars are coming out of the woodwork. I agree she's an equal opportunity jerk. It seems she looks down  on those "lesser" than her and tear down those who she feels is a threat to her status as queen bee.

I had wondered why Glee trumpeted casting Charisse only to have her disappear after a few scenes. Now that stories are coming out, there's a rumor it was due to Queen Lea.

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I had wondered why Glee trumpeted casting Charisse only to have her disappear after a few scenes. Now that stories are coming out, there's a rumor it was due to Queen Lea.

I don't know if the show would have been better to focus on too many other characters. That's part of the reason it got so chaotic towards the end (really even in the middle). Like, remember when there were battling glee clubs at McKinley with Sugar and the other girls splintering off? Too much. 

But I do wonder how many plotlines they swerved away from to let Lea/Rachel shine brighter. Everyone's complaint is always about Amber/Mercedes not getting her due (though personally I think that might fully be a Ryan Murphy problem. I don't think he was that interested in her character or knew how to write for her.) But there's also Charice, Lindsay Pearce (Glee Project)... I'm sure there are other characters I'm forgetting who only showed up for an episode or two.

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1 hour ago, aradia22 said:

But I do wonder how many plotlines they swerved away from to let Lea/Rachel shine brighter. Everyone's complaint is always about Amber/Mercedes not getting her due (though personally I think that might fully be a Ryan Murphy problem. I don't think he was that interested in her character or knew how to write for her.) But there's also Charice, Lindsay Pearce (Glee Project)... I'm sure there are other characters I'm forgetting who only showed up for an episode or two.

The disappointed thing is that I liked Lea in the beginning. I loved Spring Awakening and she was the reason I watched Glee when it debuted. All this despite the rumors. But became more and more disenchanted through the years and this is the final nail. I can't excuse the chatter anymore.

Now I'm going to admit to a catty moment. I was happy when Ali Stroker (Glee Project, Deaf Spring Awakening) won a Tony award for Oklahoma, and remember thinking Lea must be going nuts at that moment. I'm sure she considered Ali one of her "lessers." LOL

Edited by Snow Apple
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Now I'm going to admit to a catty moment. I was happy when Ali Stroker (Glee Project, Deaf Spring Awakening) won a Tony award for Oklahoma

If I'm being fully honest, I don't think Ali really deserved that Tony for her performance. It was very one-note. Both in her vocal performance and her acting it was all the same. She just belted and bellowed and even as a comedic performance, it wasn't anything special. I think it was a good year for her. The Tony's aren't as political as the Oscar's but a good story can still help. I think people figured Amber Gray would have another chance. It's a shame Mary Testa still doesn't have a Tony.

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1 hour ago, aradia22 said:

If I'm being fully honest, I don't think Ali really deserved that Tony for her performance. It was very one-note. Both in her vocal performance and her acting it was all the same. She just belted and bellowed and even as a comedic performance, it wasn't anything special. I think it was a good year for her. The Tony's aren't as political as the Oscar's but a good story can still help. I think people figured Amber Gray would have another chance. It's a shame Mary Testa still doesn't have a Tony.

I can take or leave Ali. My glee (heh) was imagining Lea's reaction. I only knew Ali from Glee and any admiration I had for Lea was fading during that time.

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And more cast-members are speaking out. 

Heather Morris Says Lea Was Unpleasant to Work With

She does seem to suggest what other posters are saying here. That it doesn't mean Lea was racist per se but just an asshole to people in general. 

As they say, what happens in the dark will always eventually come to the light. It's why I always say I'm a big believer in karma. People underestimate the power of karma because it doesn't always happen immediately. But even if it sometimes takes years, what you put out in the universe will often eventually come back on you.

Edited by truthaboutluv
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37 minutes ago, Sara2009 said:

If her black co-stars found her treatment of them to be racist, then she’s racist. People can be jerks to everyone and also be racists.

I agree. These are people who have been in the industry, some for decades, an industry that have plenty of divas and assholes/jerks, so I'm sure these people can tell the difference between those experiences/treatments and racism. I'm not going to deny them their truth because I can't or don't want to believe that Lea have racist views/tendencies, and just want to believe she is simply a diva/jerk who treats everyone horribly. 

Heather M, can't speak for those Black co-stars. Her experience is not theirs.

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"Shit in your wig" is what I can't shake.  I guess many people might be wearing wigs at a TV studio.  But to talk to a black woman about a wig makes me think about all the remarks and assumptions some make about black hair.  Maybe I've overthought it, I don't know.  I honestly didn't remember the character Samantha played at all, until I saw a photo, including the character's gorgeous natural hair.

Something I've come to understand over the past few years is that racism isn't binary.  I was raised in politically moderate surroundings and the general sense, I think, was that racists were cross-burners or George Wallace or a public figure caught using a slur.  That kind of behavior was unequivocally bad, everyone around me agreed, but if you applied the label of "racist" or "racism" to anything else, how could you make such an association?

I've ultimately had to accept that some of my behavior and perspectives have been racist.  OK, what does that mean?  Am I a wicked person?  No, it means I need to educate myself, unpack my expectations, and do better.  I have been racist in spite of the fact that I would always have said, and sincerely meant, that I think people of color are equal to everyone else.  That's just a fact.

I don't doubt that Lea would also say, and sincerely mean, the same thing about race.  We seem to generally agree that she definitely has baggage around people she considers her career inferiors or those who aren't going to be useful to her.  Right off the bat I think there are usually intersectional issues of race and privilege affecting who the people someone like this deems worthy are.  A lot of people of color from a lot of different productions or phases in Lea's career seem to have gotten a similar impression of her.  That's not nothing.

I admit that I felt momentarily bad for her in light of the consequences.  I was already unpacking why I felt that way, instead of focusing more on those who felt belittled by her, when I read her terrible non-apology.  Wasn't she supposedly at one point paid $80K per episode, and it couldn't buy her representation that would tell her this wasn't going to fly, if she couldn't come to that realization herself?  There really is no excuse. I hope someone in her life has the backbone to explain to her what this is about.  Set her career aside.  She can, as an individual, think about how to become anti-racist and not simply "not racist."  

I wish her well.  Big yikes.

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6 hours ago, aradia22 said:

I would be interested in hearing more from Amber Riley though.

Honestly, if Amber came out and addressed things that would make it things clear to everyone. Because Sammie is a late addition to Glee, the fanbase and even her fellow costar Heather are reticent to believe her when she’s saying Lea was racist towards her (which is sad in light of what’s going on right now). Being a diva and being racist aren’t exclusive, I really don’t get the confusion tbh. The wig comment is a common microagression against black women and our hair; sure you can say that everyone wears wigs and weaves these days but I’ve only ever experienced comments and jokes about “fake hair” and “horse hair” “You’re mad you cant grow hair like mine” lobbed at myself and other black women. If someone said to Lea “go fix your nose” I would absolutely think that person was antiSemitic. Anyone can have a larger than average nose but I know that it’s a rude stereotype specifically towards Jewish people, regardless of actual nose size. 

Anyways yeah Amber being there from day 1, if she outright spoke on things that would absolutely be the nail in the coffin for this whole situation. That being said, beyond being a class act she’s a young working black actress in Hollywood; she has to remain “on code”. Heather isn’t even really working in big productions like that so she can say whatever and not really have to worry about blowback. Amber on the other hand is constantly working; it’s been said that she’s a shoo in as a muse for live action Hercules. The house of mouse is huge and can absolutely make or break a career. If Amber addressed this, it’s not other actresses and actors she has to worry about, its producers who don’t want whistleblowers on set. Just look at Gabrielle Union, she brought up experiencing racism on AGT and has been blackballed because of it. Gabrielle, unlike Amber is married to a multimillionaire NBA player so she can leave Hollywood forever and still live well. Amber has to keep her head down if she wants to maintain her livelihood, that’s just reality. We won’t get more than the subtweets we already did from her.

Edited by ChaChaSlide
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Being a diva and being racist aren’t exclusive, I really don’t get the confusion tbh. 

Just speaking for myself, I think it's that when I've experienced racism or microaggressions it's in comments that are unequivocally racist or racially focused (slurs, appearance, ethnic stereotypes, etc.) or the person behaving that way does not act in a similar fashion to anyone else (if I'm in an environment with most white people) or only acts that way to other POC. Of course this is just my personal experience and I agree that you can absolutely be an asshole and also racist. In fact, many assholes are racist. But this is why I'm willing to withhold judgment about her being racist until someone tells a story that proves some racial bias. 

That said, I think it's pretty clear by now that she's a monster to work with whether or not she's racist and I don't know if she'll be able to have a career after this. I mean, there are openly terrible people with careers but they are going after a different kind of fanbase.

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Yes, an asshole to everyone but  how she bullied POC probably had racist undertones at least some of the time. i.e wig.

Ryan had a choice, and he let her  run rough shot over the production.   It would have been easy to get rid of her at least at the end of season 3.

 

Edited by watches2muchtv
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On 6/2/2020 at 6:38 PM, Avabelle said:

I’m not sure I think Lea is a racist (although how would I know), I do think she’s an asshole though and her bad attitude seems aimed at anyone who she views as beneath her or a threat to her stardom and that in itself is pretty dangerous.

I’m bringing my response over from the “Other celebrity news” thread and I feel it fits here. 
 

Of course I’m disappointed to hear these things about Lea because I was a huge fan of her talent and her work but I’m not surprised. 
 

Also I’ve seen in my personal life (as a black woman) that there are awful people who are mean and hateful to people in general but change their tactics depending on who they are talking to. They are assholes to everyone but are quick to put a racist or homophobic tinge to their awful behavior when there are black/brown or gay people in the room. (As an example) 

Also bullies will pick on people lower on the social hierarchy. And Black/Brown people are lower on the social hierarchy. 
 

I can firmly believe Lea was a diva asshole and said racist things to people because they were the easiest mean thing to say. 
 

Has Amber Riley spoken about this?

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13 hours ago, Sara2009 said:

If her black co-stars found her treatment of them to be racist, then she’s racist. People can be jerks to everyone and also be racists.

Yup. 

 

12 hours ago, ChaChaSlide said:

Anyways yeah Amber being there from day 1, if she outright spoke on things that would absolutely be the nail in the coffin for this whole situation. That being said, beyond being a class act she’s a young working black actress in Hollywood; she has to remain “on code”. Heather isn’t even really working in big productions like that so she can say whatever and not really have to worry about blowback. Amber on the other hand is constantly working; it’s been said that she’s a shoo in as a muse for live action Hercules. The house of mouse is huge and can absolutely make or break a career. If Amber addressed this, it’s not other actresses and actors she has to worry about, its producers who don’t want whistleblowers on set. Just look at Gabrielle Union, she brought up experiencing racism on AGT and has been blackballed because of it. Gabrielle, unlike Amber is married to a multimillionaire NBA player so she can leave Hollywood forever and still live well. Amber has to keep her head down if she wants to maintain her livelihood, that’s just reality. We won’t get more than the subtweets we already did from her.

Slow clap for everything you said! 
 

I would love to hear Amber’s thoughts but I of course respect her decision either way and yes she has to protect her career. I would love to see her as a Muse in the live action Hercules. 

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https://people.com/tv/amber-riley-clarifies-that-lea-michele-isnt-racist-hasnt-talked-to-her-in-2-years/  

 

Short version is: she doesn't believe Lea is racist and people need to stop dragging on her while she's pregnant.  She also hasn't talked to her in two years until this week.  Lea reached out, they spoke, that for Amber, that where it ends for her.  But like other Gleek actors, it wasn't the most fun set to be on.  But here's the link for more details along with video. 

 

 

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4 minutes ago, mtlchick said:

https://people.com/tv/amber-riley-clarifies-that-lea-michele-isnt-racist-hasnt-talked-to-her-in-2-years/  

 

Short version is: she doesn't believe Lea is racist and people need to stop dragging on her while she's pregnant.  She also hasn't talked to her in two years until this week.  Lea reached out, they spoke, that for Amber, that where it ends for her.  But like other Gleek actors, it wasn't the most fun set to be on.  But here's the link for more details along with video. 

 

 

Thank you very much for sharing. 
 

I respect Amber’s perspective. Likely Lea was an asshole to people she wanted to be an asshole to and took the easy way regarding the comments she chose. 
 

Also I’m glad Amber spoke out about the culture that allows that behavior to fester. A bigger problem than the behavior of one person. 

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"We were even told, we were expendable; the colored girls, the black girls are expendable," Riley explained. "I'm talking about the culture of Hollywood right now and how they treat black characters, black men, black women. I’m talking about the culture."

Re-posting that part of Amber's comments here because I think it's important and it echoes what has been said. Picking on perceived subordinates is never okay but the culture fosters a hierarchy and as much as there are thousands of blond ingenues waiting in the wings, we know who gets treated as the most expendable. I've lost track of the number of black actresses who have spoken about how they are treated as interchangeable during casting even when they look nothing alike, have completely different personas and skill sets, etc. 

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