Lea Michele apologises after former Glee co-star accuses her of torment and microaggressions

Lea Michele has apologised to Samantha Marie Ware after being accused of "tormenting" her former Glee co-star.

The 33-year-old actress - who starred as Rachel Berry on the hit show - doesn't specifically remember making hurtful remarks towards Samantha during their time together on set, but she admits it's "not really the point".

In a statement shared with PEOPLE, Lea continued: "What matters is that I clearly acted in ways which hurt other people.

"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."

Lea came under fire from her former co-star shortly after she expressed her support for George Floyd and the Black Lives Matter movement.

[embed]https://twitter.com/Sammie_Ware/status/1267632171570745345[/embed]

Following Lea's tweet, Samantha replied: "LMAO 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**t in my wig! Among other traumatic microaggressions that made me question a career in Hollywood. (sic)"

Alex Newell, Amber Riley and Dabier Snell - who all co-starred in Glee - reacted in support of Samantha.

Alex and Amber shared gifs, with Alex posting the "Get her, Jade" meme from RuPaul's Drag Race

Dabier wrote: "Girl, you wouldn't let me sit at the table with the other cast members cause 'I didn't belong there'. F*** you Lea. (sic)"

[embed]https://twitter.com/OfficialDabier/status/1267655483764039682[/embed]

Heather Morris has also weighed in on this, claiming Lea treated others with "disrespect" and was "unpleasant to work with" on the set of Glee.

The actress - who appeared as Brittany S. Pierce - believes her co-star "should be called out".

Heather wrote in a statement: "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.

"And yet, 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.

"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... (sic)"

Lea was dropped by meal kit company HelloFresh after Samantha's accusation.

The firm tweeted: "HelloFresh does not condone racism nor discrimination of any kind.

"We are disheartened and disappointed to learn of the recent claims concerning Lea Michele. We take this very seriously and have ended our partnership with Lea Michele, effective immediately."

Lea was promoting the company as recently as May 20, but a source played down HelloFresh's decision, telling People magazine the partnership "was nearing its conclusion regardless."

Lea apologised for her past failings and pledged to "grow and change".

She said: "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.

[[nid:473223]]

"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 behaviour 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."

The Hollywood star - who is currently preparing for the arrival of her first child with Zandy Reich - is determined to be seen as a "real role model".

She said: "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.

"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."