Chris Colfer Shading Lea Michele Once Again Reminds Us About Toxic Glee Environment
Looks like we won't be seeing Chris Colfer in the audience of Funny Girl on Broadway starring his Glee co-star, Lea Michelle, in the foreseeable future.
That's what Colfer signaled by his chill reply to Michelle Collins' question whether he was going to visit the Broadway musical while he was in New York. At first, the actor tried to laugh the matter off by saying, "my day suddenly just got so full." But when Collins persisted, Colfer unequivocally waived the suggestion to go see Lea Michelle in Funny Girl. "No," he said. "I can be triggered at home."
This comment by Chris Colfer known for his portrayal of Kurt Hummel on Glee came as no surprise to Glee fans. Two years ago, Lea Michelle was accused of creating a toxic environment on the set of Glee by her co-stars. The actress was accused of on-set bullying and prima donna behavior. The most harsh revelations came from Samantha Marie Ware who played Jane Hayward in season 6 of Glee.
The actress claimed that Michele made her time on the show a "living hell." Colleagues from Glee supported Ware in her accusations.
At the time, Lea Michelle issued an official apology, explaining her behaviors with "perfectionism" and her "intense working style". Judging by Chris Colfer's cold reply, Michelle's colleagues are far from the "forgive and forget" stage. And many Glee fans definitely consider such a reaction to be "fair".
Fans remembered lots of reports about the toxic environment on the set of Glee. All agree that filming Glee might have been triggering, traumatic, and stressful for Chris Colfer and his co-actors. And it is unfair to expect Colfer and other actors to go support Lea Michelle or any other of their former colleagues just because they were in the show together. Working together doesn't mean you have to support or denounce each other for the rest of your lives. It is normal to never engage again after the work is done.
Though Colfer never officially accused Michelle of bullying, many fans believe that Lea could be a strong trigger for Glee's unhappy memories in general. Everyone agreed that Colfer's reaction basically meant that he left his Glee days behind and has no desire to keep up with people reminding him about this overall negative experience.