Lea Michele dropped from Hello Fresh deal over Samantha Ware allegations: ‘We don’t condone racism’

Healthy food company says it is ‘disheartened and disappointed’ to learn of Ware’s claims

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Hello Fresh has cut ties with Lea Michele after a Glee co-star claimed she made her life a “living hell” due to “traumatic microaggressions” on the set of the show.

On 1 June, actor Samantha Marie Ware responded to a tweet from Michele about the death of George Floyd and Black Lives Matter.

“George Floyd did not deserve this. This was not an isolated incident and it must end. #BlackLivesMatter,” Michele wrote.

Ware quoted Michele’s tweet, writing in all caps: “Remember when you made my first television gig a living hell?!?! Cause I’ll never forget.

“I believe you told everyone that if you had the opportunity you would ‘s*** in my wig!’ amongst other traumatic microaggressions that made me question a career in Hollywood.”

Ware’s tweet garnered plenty of attention, with more than 425,000 likes and 87,000 retweets.

The tweet also prompted the hashtag #LeaMicheleIsOverParty to trend on the platform.

One person tweeted asking the brand to end its partnership with Hello Fresh, the popular weekly recipe kit delivery service that has been working with Michele since January.

“@HelloFresh should probably cut ties with @LeaMichele …it’s only a matter of time before people stop buying your products bc you support her #hellofresh #LeaMicheleIsOverParty,” they wrote.

The company responded confirming that it would be ending its relationship with Michele in light of Ware’s claims.

“HelloFresh does not condone racism nor discrimination of any kind,” it replied on Twitter.

“We are disheartened and disappointed to learn of the recent claims concerning Lea Michele.

“We take this very seriously, and have ended our partnership with Lea Michele, effective immediately.”

Michele has now responded to Ware’s claims in a statement posted on Instagram.

“One of the most important lessons of the last few weeks is that we need to take the time to listen and learn about other people’s perspectives and any role we have played or anything we can do to help address the injustices that they face,” she wrote.

“When I tweeted the other day, it was meant to be a show of support for our friends and neighbours and communities of colour during this really difficult time, but the responses I received to what I posted have made me also focus specifically on how my own behaviour towards fellow cast members was perceived by them.”

The actor added that she has no memory of making the statement to which Ware referred in her tweet.

“I have never judged others by their background or color of their skin [sic],” she continued before going on to reference her “privileged” position.

“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 behaviour and for any pain which I have caused.”

Michele went on to reference that she is expecting her first child with her husband Zandy Reich.

“I know I need to keep working to better myself and take responsibility for my actions so I can be a real role model for my child,” she wrote.

You can read the full statement here.