No one was truly surprised to learn that Lea Michele is a terrible person. But none of us had imagined the scope of her vicious Glee era behavior.
As she hemorrhages sponsors left and right, Lea is apologizing and begging to be forgiven for her vile misdeeds.
Like so many, from celebrities to influencers to regular folks, Lea Michele voiced her support for the courageous nationwide protests.
"George Floyd did not deserve this," the Glee alum tweeted on Friday, May 29.
Lea added: "This was not an isolated incident and it must end. #BlackLivesMatter."
Over the weekend, as police violence escalated, her tweet was seen by more people -- including a former costar who called her out as a hypocrite.
"LMAO REMEMBER WHEN YOU MADE MY FIRST TELEVISON GIG A LIVING HELL?!?!" Samantha Ware tweeted on Monday, June 1.
"CAUSE ILL NEVER FORGET," she continued.
Samantha recalled: "I BELIEVE YOU TOLD EVERYONE THAT IF TOU HAD THE OPPORTUNITY YOU WOULD 'S--T IN MY WIG!'"
She wrote that it was "AMONGST OTHER TRAUMATIC MICROAGRESSIONS THAT MADE ME QUESTION A CAREER IN HOLLYWOOD."
HelloFresh is a meal kit company, based in Germany, that has had a sponsorship deal with Lea Michele -- but no more.
"HelloFresh does not condone racism nor discrimination of any kind," the brand tweeted this week.
The Tuesday tweet continued: "We are disheartened and disappointed to learn of the recent claims concerning Lea Michele."
“We take this very seriously," HelloFresh affirmed, "and have ended our partnership with Lea Michele, effective immediately."
Additionally, HelloFresh has tweeted that they have made a donation to the Brooklyn NAACP.
Now, Lea Michele has made a statement to People, offering up an apology to Samantha.
"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," she begins.
Lea continues: "and any role we have played or anything we can do to help address the injustices that they face."
"When I tweeted the other day," Lea explains, "it was meant to be a show of support for our friends and neighbors and communities of color."
She acknowledges that communities of color need vocal support "during this really difficult time."
"But the responses I received to what I posted," Lea continues.
She says that these responses "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," Lea claims regarding Sammie's tweet.
"And," she insists, "I have never judged others by their background or color of their skin."
Lea does acknowledge "that’s not really the point."
"What matters is that I clearly acted in ways which hurt other people," she affirms.
"Whether it was my privileged position and perspective that caused me to be perceived as insensitive or inappropriate at times," Lea says.
She continues "or whether it was just my immaturity and me just being unnecessarily difficult."
Lea states: "I apologize for my behavior and for any pain which I have caused."
"We all can grow and change," she notes, "and I have definitely used these past several months to reflect on my own shortcomings."
"I am a couple of months from becoming a mother," Lea says.
"And," she expresses, "I know I need to keep working to better myself and take responsibility for my actions."
Lea says that she wants to do this "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," she adds.
"I listened to these criticisms and I am learning," Lea tells People.
"And while I am very sorry," she affirms.
Lea concludes by vowing: "I will be better in the future from this experience."
While it is heartwarming that Lea has issued this apology, Sammie is not the only actress who has reflected upon Lea's behavior.
She has been called out by multiple former castmates for behavior that goes above and beyond "diva" toxicity.
A diva demands a larger dressing room.
A racist tells a black costar that she has to eat lunch at another table.
Actor Dabier Snell has appeared on Rizzoli and Isles and on Black Lightning, but he is also known for his role on Glee.
He, too, took to Twitter to call out Lea's behavior.
"GIRL YOU WOULDNT LET ME SIT AT THE TABLE WITH THE OTHER CAST MEMBERS," he accused.
He recalled Lea explaining her rule 'CAUSE “I DIDNT BELONG THERE' F--K YOU LEA."
Lea is not the only lead actress to have tormented a black castmate, and actors are not the only ones who have made the industry a nightmare for people of color.
Other black actresses, including The Flash's Candice Patton and Lucifer's Lesley-Ann Brandt, replied to Sammie's tweet.
Though they did not call out specific people in the past or present, they acknowledged that there has been trauma and difficulty in their careers.
All of this and more is being dredged up as Americans across the nation plead for justice in the face of systemic racism and brutal police violence.