Lea Michele and Naya Rivera Feud: What Happened on 'Glee' Set?

What *actually* happened? Lea Michele and Naya Rivera’s feud on the set of Glee was rumored long before her costar Samantha Marie Ware called her out for bullying.

The Scream Queens star began receiving backlash on June 1 after Samantha slammed her tweet supporting the Black Lives Matter movement and calling for justice for George Floyd’s death.

“LMAO remember when you made my first television gig a living hell?” The What/If actress responded to Lea’s tweet. “‘Cause I’ll never forget. I believe you told everyone that if you had the opportunity you would ‘s–t in my wig’ amongst other traumatic microaggressions that made me question a career in Hollywood …”

More negative claims about Lea, who played Rachel Berry, on the set of Glee resurfaced Naya’s previous conflict with the Ragtime star. “I mean, Naya Rivera told everyone about Miss Lea Michele years ago, but no one listened. And, it was all people asked her about, so she said it wasn’t a big deal,” one person tweeted. “Naya Rivera knowing she was right about Lea Michele this whole time,” someone else quipped with a GIF of the actress’ character Santana Lopez flipping her hair. Naya has not spoken out about Lea’s current drama.

Heather Morris, who played Brittany Pierce on the musical show, confirmed Lea was “unpleasant” to work with and “should be called out” for the “disrespect” she showed her costars on June 3. “At the current moment, it’s implied that she is a racist, and although I cannot comment on her beliefs, I think we’re assuming. And, you know what happens when we all assume,” the California native wrote.

Another Glee star who commented on the controversy surrounding Lea was Amber Riley, known for her role as Mercedes Jones. “I’m not going to say Lea Michele is racist, that is not what I’m saying,” Amber explained while noting she “doesn’t give a s—t” about the drama amid larger issues happening in the world.

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“That was the assumption because of what’s going on in the world, and it happened toward a black person. I’m not going to say she’s racist,” she continued in an Instagram Live with Danielle Young. “She’s also pregnant and I think that everyone needs to kind of chill. Y’all dragged her for a couple of days.”

The Broadway singer issued a formal apology on June 3. “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 being unnecessarily difficult, I apologize for my behavior,” she wrote in a lengthy statement on Instagram while noting she doesn’t “remember” saying the “specific statement” Samantha claimed.

Lea is currently under fire, but she already has a lot of history with her costars. Take a look back at the timeline of her feud with Naya.

From the Top

Show creator Ryan Murphy spoke about the allegations a few weeks later. “I don’t think there is a story between Naya and Lea,” he said. “Naya’s coming back next year, Lea’s coming back next year — anybody ever in that cast has an open invitation to come back and finish the character they so beautifully started.”

Brushed Off

Lea also denied there was trouble in paradise during an interview with David Letterman the same month. “It’s really unbelievable, the amount of things that can be just completely made up,” the New York native said. “People like to pit women against each other, and it’s really annoying and really sad.”

Her Side of Things

Naya released her tell-all book, Sorry Not Sorry: Dreams, Mistakes, and Growing Up, in 2016 and said she thought their “friendship started to break down” because her character began getting “bigger plot lines and more screen time.” The Step Up: High Water star quipped, “I think Rachel — erm, I mean Lea — didn’t like sharing the spotlight.”

Just Didn’t Click

What was the issue between the ladies? They simply had very different personalities. “One of the Glee writers once said that Lea and I were like two sides of the same battery and that about sums us up,” Naya wrote. “We are both strong-willed and competitive — not just with each other but with everyone — and that’s not a good mixture.”

Horrible Events

The ladies buried the hatchet, but even greater devastation hit the Glee cast when Naya disappeared on July 8 while boating with her 4-year-old son, Josey, in Lake Piru. On July 13, authorities said they were “confident” a body they recovered from the California lake belonged to Naya.

“[Josey] and Naya swam in the lake together at some point during their journey. It was during that time that her son described being helped into the boat by Naya,” Sheriff Ayub said during a press conference. “He told investigators that he looked back and saw her disappear under the surface of the water.”