Glee may be as well known for its controversies and tragedies as for its outrageous plot lines and overall success.
The show’s so-called ‘curse’ will be the subject of a Discovery+ docuseries, which will dig deeper into the tragedies and controversies that occurred behind the scenes of the Emmy-winning comedy series.
According to a Deadline report, the series, created by Ample Entertainment, will feature interviews with “key cast and crew members” about what really happened during the filming of the show’s 121 episodes between 2009 and 2015.
There is no shortage of behind-the-scenes dramas to dissect.
Three of the show’s cast members, Cory Monteith, Mark Salling and Naya Rivera, suffered untimely deaths.
Cory Monteith
The so-called ‘curse’ began when Canadian actor Cory Monteith, who played loveable quarterback-turned-singer Finn Hudson, died in 2013.
Monteith died in a Vancouver hotel room from a heroin overdose aged 31, while the show was still on air.
His death was a devastating blow for the cast – particularly for Lea Michele, who played Finn’s love interest Rachel Berry and had been dating Monteith for some time.
Monteith had struggled with substance abuse for much of his life. He was in and out of rehab, falling back into bad habits when he began his Hollywood acting career.
His most recent stint ended just four months before his death.
Glee cast mates and crew members were aware of Monteith’s battle with addiction, with Monteith having faced an intervention at the Paramount set in Los Angeles not long before his death.
Glee eventually dedicated an episode to Monteith, aptly titled The Quarterback.
Mark Salling
Another troubled cast member Mark Salling, who played the suitably delinquent Noah ‘Puck’ Puckerman, died not long after the show ended.
Deadline confirmed that Salling’s death will be a focus of the docuseries.
The actor died in custody in 2018 while awaiting sentencing for possessing child pornography, to which he had pleaded guilty.
The actor was first arrested in 2015 after a tip-off from an ex-girlfriend.
Authorities eventually found more than 50,000 images of child exploitation on his computer and hard drive.
Salling didn’t receive the same outpouring of grief and adoration from the Glee cast, given the circumstances surrounding his death.
Naya Rivera, who played sassy cheerleader Santana Lopez and briefly dated Salling, was one of the few cast members to address his death.
In her 2016 memoir Sorry Not Sorry: Dreams, Mistakes, and Growing Up, Rivera said she generally didn’t regret any of her past relationships – but in retrospect certainly regretted the time she spent with Salling.
“I think everyone should have that one relationship where you look back and ask yourself, ‘What the hell was I thinking?’,” Rivera wrote.
“You’ll learn something and you won’t regret it. Unless, of course, that relationship was with someone who had a sizeable stash of child porn on his computer.
“Then, by all means, regret everything.”
Naya Rivera
Rivera died in 2020 in heartbreaking circumstances.
Rivera, an experienced boater, went missing while on an outing on California’s Lake Piru with her son Josey in July 2020.
Another boater raised the alarm after they saw the boat rented by Rivera drifting, with Josey asleep – and alone – on the boat.
Authorities presumed Rivera had gone swimming in the lake, and believed she may have drowned, given her life jacket was still on board.
After days of searching, Rivera’s body was eventually located, with authorities concluding that she drowned.
To add to speculation of a ‘curse’, Rivera’s body was found on July 13, 2020 – the seventh anniversary of Monteith’s death.
Lea Michele
Rumours about Lea Michele’s on-set behaviour had been rife in recent years, ignited by the star’s support of the George Floyd protests in 2020.
Like many celebrities, Michele took to social media to express her support for the Black Lives Matter movement.
“George Floyd did not deserve this. This was not an isolated incident and it must end. #BlackLivesMatter,” she tweeted.
However, Michele’s Glee co-stars accused her of hypocrisy because of her toxic workplace behaviour.
Samantha Marie Ware, who appeared in the show’s sixth season, quote tweeted Michele’s tweet, claiming that Michele made her first TV role a “living hell” and threatened to “s–t in [her] wig”.
“Amongst other traumatic micro-aggressions that made me question a career in Hollywood,” Ware wrote.
Other Glee actors came out to support Ware, many liking posts about Michele’s behaviour, and some even sharing their own experiences.
Heather Morris, who played ditzy cheerleader Brittany Pierce, said she believed Michele deserved to be called out.
“Was she unpleasant to work with? Very much so; for Lea to treat other with the disrespect that she did for as long as she did, I believe she SHOULD be called out,” Morris wrote.
“At the current moment it’s implied that she is a racist and although I cannot comment on her beliefs, I think we’re assuming, and you know what happens when we all assume …”
Michele took to Instagram to acknowledge her behaviour may not have been at its best.
“While I don’t remember ever making this specific statement and I have never judged others by their background or colour of their skin, that’s not really the point, what matters is that I clearly acted in ways which hurt other people,” she wrote.
“I apologise for my behaviour and for any pain which I have caused.”
The rumours of her unpleasant behaviour hit headlines again years later, when Michele joined the cast of Funny Girl on broadway.
Many expected Michele to take part in a mini-Glee reunion alongside former co-star Jane Lynch, who was already part of the production.
But upon Michele’s casting, Lynch mysteriously left the role prematurely, leading many to speculate that she did not want to work alongside Michele again.
Melissa Benoist
Supergirl actor Melissa Benoist, who played student Marley Rose in Glee’s fourth and fifth seasons, revealed in 2019 that she had been the victim of domestic violence.
In a tearful Instagram video, Benoist said she had been in an abusive relationship, giving details about how the violence escalated over time.
She said her abuser became more manipulative and controlling over time, to the point that he would keep eyes on her electronic devices, force her to change clothes when they left the house, and did not want her having romantic scenes at work.
Benoist never named her abuser in her video, but fans speculated that she was referring to Blake Jenner, her Glee co-star and her husband from 2015 to 2017.
Jenner seemingly admitted that he was responsible for the abuse a year later, issuing a statement in 2020.
“I take full responsibility and accountability for the hurt that I inflicted during my relationship with my past partner — emotionally, mentally and yes, physically.”
Jenner said he was “sorry”, but he also claimed that he had been hurt in the relationship.
“Without absolving myself of any responsibility, it is important to understand that there was mental, emotional and physical abuse inflicted from both ends,” he said.
