Sarah Paulson awkwardly avoids answering a fan question about Lea Michele

Sarah Paulson dodged a question about Lea Michele after the recent scandal which saw the Glee actress accused by numerous people of bullying and unpleasant behavior on set.

Paulson, who starred in Glee-creator Ryan Murphy’s show American Horror Story, was asked by a viewer about Lea on Watch What Happens Live but managed to avoid answering the question. 

Host Andy Cohen relayed a question from a viewer who wanted to know Paulson’s thoughts on the controversy.

‘I’m having a weird connection. I can’t really hear you,’ the 45-year-old actress said with a laugh. 

The Glee actress came under fire in May when she tweeted about George Floyd.

‘George Floyd did not deserve this,’ Lea wrote at the time. ‘This was not an isolated incident and it must end.’

The well-meaning tweet was put on blast after Lea’s former castmate Samantha Ware, who played Jane Hayward on the show, replied, ‘LMAO 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**t in my wig!’ amongst other traumatic microagressions that made me question a career in Hollywood…’

Lea apologized days later for her past behavior but explained she had no memory of her alleged behavior towards Samantha. 

‘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 on Instagram.

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

Lea said she didn’t remember making the specific statement to Samantha and also claimed she has ‘never judged others by their background or color of their skin,’

She noted ‘that’s not really the point” and that ‘what matters is’ she ‘clearly acted in ways which hurt other people.’

She added, ‘We can all grow and change and I have definitely used these past several months to reflect on my own shortcomings.’

Lea, who is expecting her first child with husband Zandy Reich wrote, ‘I am a couple of months from becoming a mother and I know I need to keep working to better myself and take responsibility for my actions, so that I can be a role model for my child and so I can pass along my lessons and mistakes, so that they can learn from me. 

‘I listened to these criticisms and I am learning, and while I am very sorry, I will be better in the future from this experience.’ 

Several other former castmates of Lea’s, including Heather Morris and Amber Riley, as well as former guest stars from Glee, jumped in to share their unpleasant stories of working with the actress. 

One unnamed former co-worker of Lea’s did not deny that Michele was notoriously difficult to work with, but insisted she was never purposely discriminatory.

‘Lea was a b**ch to a lot of people who are now taking the opportunity to come forward.

‘She may not be the nicest person, but she’s not racist, sexist or transphobic. I would say she has behavioral issues that she’s dealing with,’ concluded the source. 

The majority of the stories shared of Lea stemmed from her time starring as Rachel Berry on Glee from 2009 until 2015.