Lea Michele’s former colleague has claimed the actress was "self-obsessed" but "did not discriminate" when they worked together.
The ‘Glee’ alum was slammed by her co-star Samantha Marie Ware earlier this week when she was accused of making her life "a living hell", prompting several other co-stars – including Heather Morris, Gerard Canonico, Yvette Nicole Brown, and Dabier Snell – to also come forward to make allegations of mistreatment against Lea.
And now, a former colleague of the 33-year-old actress has said that whilst Lea had an "aggressive personality", she wasn’t prejudiced against anyone.
The co-worker, who remained anonymous, said: "Though she was completely self-obsessed toward everyone, she did not discriminate. It didn’t matter if you were young or old, black or white – it’s just kind of her world.
"Things are seen through a lens, and it comes from a very protective place where obviously she’s been on guard. She’s fiery and she has more of an aggressive personality where most people would play weak or vulnerable or ask for sympathy and Lea does not do that. You know where you stand – for the most part – with her."
The source also believes Lea’s behaviour stemmed from her desire to land roles in Hollywood that "create drama".
Speaking to Us Weekly magazine, they added: "In television, they hire really strong personalities because they create drama. You don’t expect them not to be dramatic off set and in their own lives. That’s quite a switch to turn off."
Allegations against Lea began this week when Samantha accused her of making "traumatic microaggressions" towards her.
She tweeted: "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)."
Lea later issued an apology, but did not mention Samantha, 28, or any other co-stars by name.
She wrote: "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.
"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 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."