Lea Michele’s former Broadway co-star Craig Ramsay has torn into her in a scathing new interview, branding her “despicable” and “entitled”.
Last month, Lea was called out by fellow Glee alum Samantha Ware, who said that she had made her life a “living hell” during their time working together on the musical teen drama.
She said that she was subjected to a number of “traumatic” microaggressions by Lea, with a string of other cast members also showing Samantha their support.
When Lea was mentioned during an interview on the podcast Behind The Velvet Rope, Craig – who acted alongside her in Fiddler On The Roof – said: “I just didn’t want to hear Lea Michele’s name in this interview. At all!
“I think she’s a despicable, horrible human being. I think she has lost touch with reality.”
Craig noted that he was present when Lea found out she had landed a lead role in Glee, describing the moment as a turning point in her behaviour.
“I think the entitlement just came over her body,” he recalled. “She was possessed with this and from that moment on – because she moved to LA the same moment I did from New York – and I cared for her greatly, but the amount of entitlement… I have never seen the likes of it.”
Speaking out about Samantha Ware’s accusations last month, Lea wrote on Instagram: “While I don’t remember ever making this specific statement and I have never judged others by their background or colour of their skin, that’s not really the point, what matters is that I clearly acted in ways which hurt other people.
“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 apologise for my behavior and for any pain which I have caused.
“We all can grow and change and I have definitely used these past several months to reflect on my own shortcomings.”
Pointing out that she is “a couple of months from becoming a mother”, Lea added: “I know I need to keep working to better myself and take responsibility for my actions, so that I can be a real role model for my child and so I can pass along my lessons and mistakes, so that they can learn from me.
“I listened to these criticisms and I am learning and while I am very sorry, I will be better in the future from this experience.”
HuffPost has contacted Lea Michele’s publicist for comment, following Craig Ramsay’s claims.