Glee 's Heather Morris Says Lea Michele Was 'Unpleasant to Work With': 'She Should Be Called Out'
Heather Morris says her former Glee costar Lea Michele was "unpleasant to work with" during their days starring on the Fox series.
On Wednesday afternoon — hours after Michele, 33, issued an apology for her past on-set behavior following accusations from Samantha Marie Ware — Morris, 33, tweeted about her own experiences with Michele on the musical dramedy.
"Let me be very clear, Hate is a disease in America that we are trying to cure, so I would never wish for hate to be spread to anyone else. With that said, was she unpleasant to work with? Very much so; for Lea to treat others with the disrespect that she did for as long as she did, I believe she SHOULD be called out."
Morris, who starred on Glee from 2009-15, also admitted "it's also on us because to allow it to go on for so long without speaking out is something else we're learning along with the rest of society."
Getty Images (2) Heather Morris, Lea Michele
She concluded, "But, 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..."
A rep for Morris did not immediately respond to PEOPLE's request to comment further.
Early Wednesday morning, Michele apologized for her past behavior after Ware accused her of tormenting her on the set of Glee.
In a statement, exclusively shared with PEOPLE, Michele said that while she does not remember making the specific remarks that Ware says she made, that is "not really the point."
"What matters is that I clearly acted in ways which hurt other people," Michele said, explaining the importance of listening and learning from those who she might have hurt in the past.
"One of the most important lessons of the last few weeks is that we need to take the time to listen and learn about other people's perspectives and any role we have played or anything we can do to help address the injustices that they face," Michele said.
Fox Lea Michele and Heather Morris in Glee
"When I tweeted the other day, it was meant to be a show of support for our friends and neighbors and communities of color during this really difficult time," she said, referring to her May 29 tweet in support of George Floyd and the Black Lives Matter movement.
She continued: "But the responses I received to what I posted have made me also focus specifically on how my own behavior towards fellow cast members was perceived by them."
"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," Michele's statement continued.
"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 apologize 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."
A post shared by Lea Michele (@leamichele) on Jun 3, 2020 at 4:03am PDT
"I am a couple of months from becoming a mother and 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," concluded Michele, who is expecting her first child with her husband, entrepreneur and business owner Zandy Reich. "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."
Ware, who played Jane Hayward on the musical TV series for 11 episodes in 2015 opposite Michele, responded to the Scream Queens star's tweet about Floyd on Monday, calling her out for making Ware's time on set "a living hell.
"LMAO REMEMBER WHEN YOU MADE MY FIRST TELEVISION GIG A LIVING HELL?!?! CAUSE ILL NEVER FORGET," Ware tweeted.
"I BELIEVE YOU TOLD EVERYONE THAT IF TOU HAD THE OPPORTUNITY YOU WOULD 'S— IN MY WIG!' AMONGST OTHER TRAUMATIC MICROAGRESSIONS THAT MADE ME QUESTION A CAREER IN HOLLYWOOD..." added Ware, 28.
Jennifer Graylock/Getty Images; Gregg DeGuire/WireImage Lea Michele, Samantha Marie Ware
Ware did not provide further detail and did not specifically accuse Michele of any racially discriminatory behavior.
A source close to Michele told PEOPLE on Wednesday that the actress "has reached out to a few of her former cast members and spoke to a couple of them."
