A trans model has accused Lea Michele of mocking her for being in the women’s bathroom at the Emmy Awards.
Plastic Martyr has become the latest star to publicly criticise the ‘Glee’ actress, saying Lea made her "feel like a circus freak" at the awards bash in Los Angeles in 2010.
Speaking to The Sun newspaper, she recalled: "I was in the bathroom, I don’t know her at all, I just recognised her, and I’m washing my hands and I went to reach for the soap or the paper towels.
"She was standing there with her friends, talking s**t, being a mean girl, making fun of people’s outfits.
"I was just trying to get out of there. I said, ‘Excuse me,’ and she’s standing there blocking my reach.
"She goes, ‘Excuse me?’ and she looks at her friends, looks at me again, and says, ‘Excuse you, you’re in the woman’s bathroom.’"
Plastic admitted the incident left her feeling like a "freak".
The model shared: "She brushes me off and continues laughing with her friends.
"It was a bathroom packed full of women, so it made everyone else feel uncomfortable. People were staring at me and talking and pointing. I was like, ‘Okay, I’m out of here.’
"I was dressed, I felt glamorous, and to hear that from somebody who I thought was so beautiful … I went from feeling like I was on cloud nine to feeling like a circus freak."
Plastic claims the incident destroyed her confidence and that Lea knew she was mid-transition at the time.
She said: "I was passable, but not as passable. I hadn’t had any surgery yet and was still undergoing laser treatment. She knew.
"I was just starting hormones and was very vulnerable during that period, you look in the mirror and there’s this dysphoria, this disconnect.
"To have that amplified by other people is just very damaging and dangerous for trans people, it’s why so many commit suicide."
Earlier this week, Lea issued an apology to her former ‘Glee’ co-star Samantha Marie Ware, after she accused the actress of making her life "a living hell" during their time on the hit show.
She said: "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."