, the actor opened up about holding former co-star Lea Michele accountable to how the latter treated her during the sixth season of. “It was after I did my first performance, that’s when it started — the silent treatment, the stare-downs, the looks, the comments under her breath, the weird passive aggressiveness,” Samantha, whose first performance on the show was a rendition of Janelle Monaé’s “Tightrope” with the Dalton Warblers. “It all built up.
But in real life, Samantha said, “there was nothing gradual” about Lea’s treatment toward her. “As soon as she decided that she didn’t like me, it was very evident,” she said. She also toldthat Lea once tried to personally and publicly reprimand her for work that a scene director didn’t have a problem with, but which Lea apparently found “disrespectful.” “She decided to threaten my job, and said she would call Ryan Murphy in to come and fire me,” Samantha added.
Later, Samantha tried to have a conversation with Lea about being called out. “When I tried to speak up for myself, she told me to shut my mouth,” she remembers. “She said I don’t deserve to have that job. She talked about how she has reign. And here’s the thing: I completely understood that, and I was ready to be like, ‘This is your show. I’m not here to be disrespectful.’ But at that point, we were already past the respect and she was just abusing her power.
That abuse of power goes far beyond one person, too, and Samantha pointed out that Hollywood has a lot of work to do. “The projects that I’m a part of are predominantly white so I’m fitting into their world; they’re not necessarily coming into mine,” she said. “You can put color in the room, but if you don’t let them talk or speak or share their side, we’re not getting anywhere.
Why is abuse in quotes?
These were not micro-aggressions...very macro indeed.
I'm here again
Goodbye Lea 👋🏻
kihmberlie The fact that this girl still didn't apologize and used her baby/pregnancy to play victim upsets me😑.
kihmberlie MogapiBonolo
So, “anti-Black” racism is a thing now?