Dean Geyer has jumped to the defence of Lea Michele.
The 33-year-old actress has been subjected to a number of accusations of on-set bullying by former TV and stage co-stars in recent days and the 34-year-old Australian singer-and-actor – who played Brody Weston in 14 episodes of ‘Glee’ – is the first to publicly speak out to support her.
Dean said: "Lea is still one of my favourite co-stars that I have had the pleasure of working with. She is extremely hard working and super fun to be around.
"Her work ethic is so strong it forces you to always be on top of your game, and that’s something I looked forward to everyday on set. I definitely learned a lot."
And the former ‘Australian Idol’ star praised Lea for being the "most friendly" member of the ‘Glee’ cast when he joined the show.
He added to Daily Mail Australia: "When jumping onto a hugely successful and established show like ‘Glee’, I went into it expecting to be known as the "new guy" for at least a month, but that wasn’t the case at all.
"I almost immediately felt welcomed, and to be totally honest, out of everyone, Lea was the most friendly to me.
"I can only speak for myself and my own experience, but from what I saw during my time on set, there was nothing but professionalism and a genuine sense of community amongst the cast and crew.
"No one showed any signs of discomfort while Lea was on set. If I’m basing my opinion off my season, there definitely shouldn’t be a reason for a backlash."
Lea came under fire from her former co-star Samantha Ware shortly after she expressed her support for George Floyd and the Black Lives Matter movement.
Following Lea’s original tweet about George, Samantha replied: "LMAO REMEMBER WHEN YOU MADE MY FIRST TELEVISON GIG A LIVING HELL?!?! CAUSE ILL NEVER FORGET. I BELIEVE YOU TOLD EVERYONE THAT IF TOU HAD THE OPPORTUNITY YOU WOULD "’S**T IN MY WIG!’ AMONGST OTHER TRAUMATIC MICROAGRESSIONS THAT MADE ME QUESTION A CAREER IN HOLLYWOOD… (sic)."
The brunette beauty later apologised for "any pain" she has caused, even if she couldn’t remember making hurtful remarks to Samantha.
Following her apology, Broadway actor Gerard Canonico accused the actress of being a "nightmare" towards understudies working on ‘Spring Awakening’ with her, and ‘Glee’ star Heather Morris said her former co-star was "very unpleasant" to work with.