Another one of Lea Michele’s former co-stars has come to the tea party and he just spilled the whole pot all over the tablecloth.
Craig Ramsay, who is probably best known for appearing on Newlyweds: The First Year, worked with Michele back in the early 2000’s on the Broadway revival of Fiddler On The Roof.
Speaking to David Yontef on the podcast Behind The Velvet Rope, Ramsay did not hold back when asked about that experience.
“I just didn’t want to hear Lea Michele’s name in this interview,” he said. “At all! I think she’s a despicable, horrible human being. I think she has lost touch with reality.”
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Related: More and more people are coming out of the woodwork with “nightmare” Lea Michele war stories
He continued, “We were in Fiddler together. Rosie (O’Donnell) is awesome. I still talk–she is a huge mentor and I respect her–how she has been able to survive and thrive with all the nonsense that was tossed at her. As far as Lea Michele is concerned, I think she is one of the most entitled people I have ever come across in this business.”
Ramsay then recalled the day Michele landed her career-changing role on Glee.
“I was there when she got the call of, ‘I got Glee,’ and I think the entitlement just came over her body,” he reflected. “She was possessed with this and from that moment on.”
He went on to explain that the two of them moved from New York to Los Angeles around the same time. They remained friends but, he says, her sense of entitlement and self-aggrandizement quickly got out of hand.
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“I cared for her greatly, but the amount of entitlement… I have never seen the likes of it, especially Broadways,” he recalled. “You can’t mess with Broadway. You can get a reputation very quick if you don’t respect where you come from.”
Ramsey went on to acknowledge that Michele is talented, and that she has gotten even better at her craft over the years, “but that doesn’t matter if no one wants to work with you.”
Michele was first accused of being a bully in late May when her former Glee co-stars Samantha Ware, Amber Riley, and Alex Newell all came forward with horror stories, along with former RuPaul’s Drag Race contestant Willam, who said she was the reason he quit Glee.
That was followed by several other former colleagues, understudies, and extras coming forward to accuse Michele of being “subhuman,” “terrifying,” “manipulative,” and a “nightmare.”
The embattled actress issued a statement in early June apologizing for how her behavior may have been “perceived” by those around her and promising to “reflect on my own shortcomings.” She has not made any additional statements, social media posts, or public appearances since then.
Cam
Social media is making it harder for people like Michelle, Mel Gibson, etc. to keep their behavior hidden.
moretruth
Or, social media is making it easier for people to air their petty grievances and spread hearsay in order to make themselves relevant for a brief moment. Not a fan of Leah Michelle but this piling on is just not right.
Troysky
@moretruth ….sounds like you work well with repeatedly disrespectful people, who would otherwise be capable of being respectful to others.
Cam
@moretruth
It’s interesting that MULTIPLE people have said she was abusive and more than one said she drove them to quit or almost convinced them to leave the business and yet you paint her as the victim.
Do you also consider Mel Gibson’s actions to be petty and unworthy of mention?
Patrick
She is not denting it………that speaks volumes
zealot
I’m sick of people being sorry after the fact that their reprehensible behavior has come to light. I wish we’d all realize that nothing beats intelligence and good manners when trying to get by in this world. I’m all for being forgiving but I tend to feel much less sincerity when the apology comes after so many instances of treating others poorly…over and over again! And in this case the insincerity shoe fits.
Brian
I agree. It shouldn’t come as a surprise to Lea that she should treat other people with a minimum level of decency. That was absolutely a choice she made, not something she did because she didn’t know any better. Her apology is worthless.
rray63
Wow, I was going to make a different comment but after reading these few, I’m out of my league. YOU people should become the judge, jury and executioner’s for some courts. You would have a field day wouldn’t you. You assume because a few people (who also wanted to be the main character) didn’t have their goal reached make a statement it’s true. Let’s see, how many were there in the great, well almost great cast of Glee, not to mention the guest stars. Lea was obviously so bad that Cory, who by all accounts was a very nice young man fell in love with her, maybe he was too stupid or drugged to notice what a horrible biotch she was? So you folks have fun with it. Remember, when someone accuses you of something that it must be true. And if it’s more than one person, you are darn sure guilty. NO MATTER WHAT.
Kevan1
@rray63 I would agree if it were just two or three people. Unfortunately for her, there are far more than a few people who had to deal with her attitude. She also apologized for being a bitch which tells me she knows her attitude sucks.
jlew64
Ummmm… yeah, that’s kind of how this works. When only one person, out of many who have worked with someone, says something negative it may well be suspect. When numerous people echo what the first person said it would seem a reasonable person would believe that there may be a “there” there.
Cam
Except dozens of people from literally EVERY SINGLE JOB SHE’S HAD since she was 12 all tell the same story.
What we should explore is why you are so invested in defending her behavior.
Troysky
@rray63 ….. per your argument…. maybe after multiple, independent people from different projects with her, who publicly claim she’s been repeatedly disrespectful, then …their 4 or 5 or…more testimonies are cumulatively invalid …and, by default, they should all keep quiet.
Onecaddy13
Fan of Glee, but not Michele. She was playing her true self thru her character. Haven’t seen or heard much about her since the show ended except in the gossip rags. She truly fits in the where are they now category. It’s just sad that the producers were either blind or just flat out ignored what was going on with the cast. What’s truly disheartening is for actors to quit or lose their jobs because of her. Her apologies are quite insincere & a bit late..
bachy
FREE LEA MICHELE!
ScottOnEarth
A lot of generalizations but no specifics. What exactly did she do to make her so despicable? I mean, most actors are self-centered, backstabbing, phony opportunists to begin with, so what sets Lea apart?
nitejonboy
Yeah I was wondering whether all these allegations were true or not ( though I’d heard for years she was difficult all the way back to her RAGTIME days ), but then when she issued her NON-APOLOGY and made it sound like she was PERCEIVED wrongly I knew exactly then it was all true…typical narcissistic control freak bish who refuses to accept responsibility for her behavior. That type never changes. Maybe if she loses a few jobs it will wake her up.
LilMesican
Hey, Queerty, how about starting a recorded show called Q-Court. Where you bring a group of us to read a story about a celebrity and we offer our judgment and commentary.
Have you read some of the comments?
Darson
Could we please for the love of all things holy….stop acting like this unattractive creature matters to anyone. You can put lipstick on a pig but it still is not going to be pretty.
Woteva
So she’s an opinionated, objectionable diva. One thing is certain – she really can sing!
That said, having a ‘difficult’ reputation could affect her career – but it never seemed to hurt Streisand‘s, did it?
Ronbo
If Lea Michele was a man, we’d probably be praising her for her drive and commitment. She may not be a nice person; but, this criticism of her in a competitive environment definitely tinges on sexism.
Brian
If any of this were remotely related to the work, I might agree with you. This, however, is pure diva stuff. Nobody would praise DeNiro’s drive and ambition if he was doing things like telling women he should shit in their wigs.
Walker
I don’t have much invested in Lea Michele (I gave up on Glee after one season because the characters were so unlikeable to me), but I think all the people saying “the more people say something the more true it is,” have likely never been bullied. The truth is, she probably is awful and abusive–but it’s also possibile she’s just unpopular, which isn’t a crime. I’ve seen this kind of groupthink justification for tearing someone apart before, and it can be very hard to see which it is until you’re part of it.
I’m more bothered by the fact that, except for two instances–the “wig” comment and someone saying she farted–no one is actually giving details about anything. It’s all just ” she’s a btch, she’s entitled, etc.” Seems like a lot.
Brian
Except, it’s not all coming from the same group of Glee people. We’ve heard from people who have worked with her at several different stages of her career, so it’s clearly how she’s always behaved.
I know Willam and Alaska both talked about their encounters with her on their podcast. In both cases they were basically right next to her and tried to make small talk and she just ignored them. Alaska said she just looked right through him as if he didn’t exist, Willam said she rolled her eyes, let out a sigh, and got on her phone. I don’t think she’s done anything super dramatic, my impression is that she just treats most people like it’s beneath her to even share the same airspace with them.
justgeo
Lover her voice talent—-hate her person!
DuMaurier
So many people have slammed Michele I think we’re past “where there’s smoke there’s fire”, but this isn’t much of an addition to the pile; maybe Michele was horrible vis a vis Ramsay, but I’m afraid I need a few more, specific details; I don’t even know what “the entitlement just came over her body” means, I’m just glad there aren’t any pics of whatever it is.
Jared MacBride
Has anyone defended her? Usually by this point the PR people will rush a couple of folks out to say what a wonderful person she is and how she sent them a card when they were in the hospital or some such nonsense. With her we have radio silence. It’s true no one is all bad, but I’m beginning to think she comes the closest.
LumpyPillows
Oh, god, stars are fighting about being dissed. First world problems.
yancha
Leave Lea Alone!
jjose712
Sorry but he didnt’ say a thing.
If you are going to accuse someone better have several examples of her bad behaviour
flk465
We gays tend to encourage this type of bad behavior. Think back to our “idols” like Joan Crawford, Barbra Streisand and Patti LuPone and we all gave them passes for their terrible behavior. (We do like our bitches.)
Even when RuPaul was asked about the reported diva antics of Diana Ross he just dismissively answered, “Miss Ross CAN be particular.”.
I’m sure Ryan Murphy was entertained by her antics and just encouraged it based on her talent. She does have talent but she didn’t have any “sweat” time where she paid her dues.
I’m glad there are those in the gay community that aren’t putting up with her crap this time.
skatedude
I cannot stand the way social media has become a bullying force in todays society. Glee was a wonderful show with very talented performers. Why this man feels he has to pile on says more about him and his need for affirmation than it does about anything Lea might have done. I’m perplexed about what exactly Lea did to these people other than be a typical Prima Donna. If only Mariah Careys people could talk!
Cam
It’s always interesting when people defend abusers and bullies by claiming that claiming out their bad or illegal behavior is bullying them.