Lea Michele’s former Glee co-star Iqbal Theba said he was not mistreated by the star as several others from the same set have branded her a ‘nightmare’ and ‘very unpleasant.’
The 56-year-old Pakistani-American actor portrayed Principal Figgins as he worked with 33-year-old Michele throughout the highly-popular Fox show’s entire run from 2009 to 2015.
As several others were piling on the stories about Michele – and she has since apologized – Iqbal insisted that he did not share such experiences.
Interesting: Lea Michele’s former Glee co-star Iqbal Theba said he was not mistreated by the star as several others from the same set have branded her a ‘nightmare’ and ‘very unpleasant’
‘I was never mistreated by her’: The talented actor took to Twitter to make things clear
The talented actor took to Twitter to write: ‘Lot of people r assuming that @LeaMichele mistreated me. Let me state it clearly that I was never mistreated by her.
‘And if some of the cast were treated badly then she has apologized for it which is wonderful. But being called a racist is too heavy & unfair a burden 4 most of us, specially in these troubled times.’
He went on to say he would like others to use more discretion when accusing others of being racist.
Tremendous trio: The 56-year-old Pakistani-American actor (center) portrayed Principal Figgins as he worked with 33-year-old Michele throughout the highly-popular Fox show’s entire run from 2009 to 2015
He said: ‘So, please be compassionate, careful & responsible before we accuse anyone of this horrible thing called racism. I love each & everyone of my fellow cast members from our great show @OfficialGLEEtv Be safe & be well. Much love.’
This came after one of Lea’s former understudies took to Twitter to explain how bad the Glee actress has treated people, even as a child.
Self-care coach Elizabeth Aldrich said it was ‘terrifying’ to work with Lea, who was only 12 at the time.
Back in the day: The entire cat of Glee seen in 2010
‘I was [Lea’s understudy] in Ragtime,’ she explained. ‘She was absolutely awful to me and ensemble.’
‘She demeaned the crew and threatened to have people fired if she was in anyway displeased. I used to cry every night from the mean and manipulative things she would do. She was 12. She was terrifying.’
People flocked to the thread to express their sympathy.
Starts young: Lea Michele’s former understudy tweeted about working with the actress as a child, calling her ‘awful’ and ‘terrifying’
Elizabeth replied to one person who was shocked that the production team even let Lea treat people like that, saying: ‘Absolutely agreed. Of course, I was only 10, but even my friends who worked with her on [Spring Awakening] felt intimidated coming forward.
‘Actors are often silenced but I’m glad her abuse has been brought to light and hope that she takes a real hard look at herself and ameliorates her ways.’
Another person asked if Lea’s parents encouraged her diva behavior.
‘No, they were actually really lovely. I think they were scared of her too,’ Aldrich shared.
Just 12: ‘She demeaned the crew and threatened to have people fired if she was in anyway displeased. I used to cry every night from the mean and manipulative things she would do. She was 12. She was terrifying’ Elizabeth wrote
Interesting… Elizabeth did say that Lea’s parents were ‘lovely’ but she thought they were also ‘scared of her.’ Lea is seen in 2019 above
Lea first came under fire on Monday after one of her social media posts showing support for Black Lives Matter was skewered by former castmate Samantha Marie Ware.
Samantha, who appeared as Jane Hayward on the show’s sixth season in 2015, swiftly hit back: ‘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.’
People were quick to co-sign the message. Fellow Glee alum Amber Riley, who played Mercedes Jones in the through all six seasons, shared two GIFs of herself, one raising her hand, while the other sipping tea, caused a stir among fans who saw it as a subtle way of the actress chiming in.
Speaking out: Lea first came under fire on Monday after one of her social media posts showing support for Black Lives Matter was skewered by former castmate Samantha Marie Ware, above
Not so subtle: Glee’s Amber Riley posted this GIF of her raising her hand, amid rumors that Lea Michele was less than kind to work with on the Ryan Murphy show
Not happy: Community star Yvette Nicole Brown, who did not appear on Glee, also voiced her opinion
In agreement: Alex Newell, who starred as Unique Adams on series for four seasons, wasn’t so subtle – and began replying to fans about the drama.
Meanwhile, Alex Newell, who starred as Unique Adams on series for four seasons, wasn’t so subtle – and began replying to fans about the drama.
‘We ain’t got not a damn thing to lie about 6 years later!’ he replied to one fan who suggested they were making false accusations about Michele’s behavior.
Lea took to social media to offer up an apology early Wednesday, telling fans and critics: ‘While I don’t remember ever making this specific statement and I have never judged others by their background or color of their skin, that’s not really the point, what matters is that I clearly acted in ways which hurt other people…
Hitting out: The actress, 33, admitted her ‘privileged position and immaturity’ had contributed to causing pain to her former co-star, 28, in a statement posted to Instagram on Wednesday
‘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.’
But people weren’t impressed by her wishy-washy words and instead raced to the comments to give Lea a piece of their mind.
One comment left under Michele’s post said: ‘Saying you didn’t do it is the worst apology I’ve ever heard.’
Another said: ‘This is a non-apology. You apologize for their ‘perception’ of your behavior? There are multiple people speaking out about your racist micro-aggressions.’