Subtle shade? Matthew Morrison spoke publicly about the allegations made against his former Glee costar and ex-girlfriend Lea Michele for the first time.
“I honestly think it’s a distraction of the bigger issues that are going on right now. It’s kind of like, ‘Ah,’” the 41-year-old actor said on FUBAR Radio’s Access All Areas on Wednesday, June 24. “You want to be a good, pleasant person to be around. That’s about all I’m going to say on that.”
Michele, 33, came under fire earlier this month after Glee’s Samantha Marie Ware accused her of making the set of the Fox show “a living hell” through “traumatic microaggressions.” After several other cast members, including Amber Riley and Heather Morris, addressed Michele’s alleged diva-like behavior, the “Cannonball” songstress released a lengthy statement via Instagram.
“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,” she wrote on June 3. “We all can grow and change and I have definitely used these past several months to reflect on my own shortcomings.”
A source later told Us Weekly exclusively that Michele was “completely self-obsessed,” but did not discriminate against others.
“It didn’t matter if you were young or old, black or white — it’s just kind of her world,” the insider told Us. “Things are seen through a lens, and it comes from a very protective place where obviously she’s been on guard. She’s fiery and she has more of an aggressive personality where most people would play weak or vulnerable or ask for sympathy and Lea does not do that.”
Riley, for her part, noted that Michele reached out after Ware’s allegations made headlines.
“She reached out to me, I responded to her. That’s where it ends for me. I ain’t talked to that girl in two years. I have no hatred or ill-will on that end. … This is the first and last time I’m gonna say something,” the Riley said via Instagram, noting she doesn’t believe her former costar is racist.
Michele, Morrison and Riley starred on all six seasons of Glee, which aired from 2009 to 2015, while Ware joined during the sixth and final season. While promoting the series in 2014, the Scream Queens star admitted that she and Morrison dated before they were both in the musical dramedy.
“Matt had been a friend of mine for years, and in fact, we’d actually dated back in the day for a Broadway beat,” she said on Watch What Happens Live With Andy Cohen in 2014.
While Michele is currently expecting her first child with husband Zandy Reich, Morrison and wife Renee Puente welcomed son Revel in September 2019.
