Former Glee Producer Says The Show Had Male 'Bullies' Too After Lea Michele Accusations

"It seems to me that women are the first to go under the bus. But a lot of males get away with being the bullies-in-chief," producer Marti Noxon said

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Published on June 4, 2020 11:02 AM

Former Glee producer Marti Noxon is weighing in on recent accusations of Lea Michele's “tormenting” behavior on set, adding that several male actors also contributed to a bullying culture.

On Wednesday, Noxon shared her thoughts on the controversy in a series of since-deleted tweets, revealing that she is "all for calling out bad behavior" but feels as if many actors that were part of the problem have been left unrecognized.

"That said, on GLEE there were LOTS of bad actors. Who were NOT women. People in the industry know who I’m talking about. Why aren’t we calling them out?" she wrote.

Marti Noxon; Lea Michele — Greg Doherty/WireImage; Jennifer Graylock/Getty Images

"It seems to me that women are the first to go under the bus," Noxon added. "But a lot of males get away with being the bullies-in-chief. How come we let them get away with it? Maybe it’s because as long as they earn someone money, they get a pass.”

Asked which male actors were "the bullies" on set, Noxon said she would "leave that to my male allies" and it's "their turn" to speak up.

Noxon's posts came just hours after Michele, 33, issued an apology for her past on-set behavior following accusations from costar Samantha Marie Ware, who called her out for her "traumatic microaggressions" and making her time on set "a living hell."

On Wednesday evening, Noxon clarified why she deleted her previous tweets, admitting that they were "poorly phrased."

"When I said 'bad actors' in reference to my work on Glee - I was using the word actor as in 'people who took bad actions.' I wasn't referring to anybody on set specifically," she stated.

She went on to apologize for "causing confusion," and added that it is an "emotional time and my industry, just like all industries, has problems it needs to fix."

"We are working on it - and it's slowly getting better," she said.

Noxon also made clear that she only worked on the musical drama for "one season, and only part time," and that a majority of the people she worked with were "wonderful."

"But when bullies are allowed to act that way- there is a culture that permits it," she explained. "That's all I was saying. Thanks. Stay safe."

heather morris, lea michele — Heather Morris and Lea Michele in *Glee*. Fox

Fellow costar Heather Morris also shared her thoughts on Michele, revealing that she was "unpleasant to work with" and "should be called out" for her behavior.

Hours before Morris revealed her experiences with the actress, Michele apologized for her past behavior.

In her apology, Michele said she did not remember saying the specific comments Ware accused her of making, and said: "I have never judged others by their background or color of their skin." The singer then admitted that she knew "that’s not really the point."

"What matters is that I clearly acted in ways which hurt other people," she said.