‘The Price of Glee’ revelations: From Lea Michele’s alleged behavior to Cory Monteith’s struggles

The price of joya limited three-part documentary, pulls back the curtain on the cultural phenomenon that has been Joy.

When Ryan Murphy’s high school musical series debuted in 2015, it quickly broke down barriers, set records and changed the music and TV industry. It also made superstars out of its ensemble cast, including Cory Monteith, Mark Salling and Naya Rivera, whose lives were ultimately cut short in very different and very tragic ways, leaving a dark cloud hanging over the series that has been rocked by scandals, gossip and more.

In the series, which will be broadcast on Monday January 16 on ID and Discovery+, parents and friends of Joy the cast, including Rivera’s father, George, and Monteith’s roommate, Justin Neill, as well as those who were on set or covered the production during its six seasons, are speaking out.

While ET reached out to Lea Michele’s team about the allegations regarding her on-screen behavior, they previously issued an apology after Samantha Marie Ware came forward with her own accusations against Michele. Meanwhile, several cast members criticized the docuseries. “It is [trash emoji]“, wrote Kevin McHale on Twitter ahead of its premiere.

That said, here are some of the biggest reveals from all three episodes.

Hairdresser claims someone told Cory Monteith to start drinking again

Monteith died on July 13, 2013 from a drug overdose while traveling back to Canada shortly before production began on Season 5. It was during the week-long visit that he reportedly started drinking again before his body was found in a hotel room with drugs. and alcohol.

Prior to his death, Monteith had his hair cut by Dugg Kirkpatrick, the head of the show’s hair department, who regularly styled many of the male co-stars on and off the set of Joy. It was during this session that Kirkpatrick recalled the last conversation he had with the actor.

Kirkpatrick claimed that Monteith attended a party where there was alcohol and resisted alcohol at the time. “But a certain cast member said to him that same night, ‘You know what? If you want a drink, you should have a drink. I’ll be there. You can always trust that I’ll be there for you,’ remembers the hairdresser.

Apparently, this upset Monteith, but he started drinking again “because he got permission from someone he loved,” Kirkpatrick continued. Although he declined to “name names,” Kirkpatrick recalled talking to the actor about it for days. “I think that put him on the path to destruction.”

Cory Monteith had a stalker and struggled with fame

The show’s fandom quickly spiraled out of control and became an ongoing issue for the stars of Joy. At one point, a fan ran up and kissed Chris Colfer on the mouth without his consent. Eventually, the production was forced to build a wall between the trailers and the set so that fans couldn’t disturb them during filming.

“This tunnel is real,” said Cory Monteith’s friend Stephen Kramer Glickman, as the actor’s roommate Justin Neill recalled how things got even worse back home. Neill said they had to install security cameras outside their apartment because Monteith had a stalker at the time. The security issue eventually led the actor to move out.

Before Monteith moved out, Neill recalled how his housemate didn’t know how to handle fame and was stressed out keeping up with all the dancing and singing on the set of Joy. According to friends and crew members, the actor became increasingly neurotic and isolated – and eventually began to disappear from the set or had his replacement rehearse with the cast.

Cast and crew detail Lea Michele’s alleged behavior

before joining Joy, Michele reportedly had a reputation for being “difficult”. Garrett Greer, an assistant to the executive producer during seasons 1 and 2, claimed that “Lea is a narcissist” and “if ever there was a threat to [her character’s] beware, this has caused conflict.”

Naya Rivera’s father, George, went on to say that the only person his daughter had “issues” with on Joy was Michele. “There was always a fight between them. Always. Everyone knew it. Everyone saw it. They hated each other but at the same time respected each other’s talent,” he claimed , before alleging that Rivera had been temporarily written off the show after complaining. about it to production.

The only actor to speak out against Michele’s alleged behavior was Dabier Snell. The actor, who appeared in the Season 4 episode, “Party All the Time,” recalled an interaction he had with her during a break in filming. “So after filming that scene and obviously there was lunch, Darren [Criss] was like, ‘Yo, you should come. All the cast members will probably sit down. I was like, ‘Okay cool.’ I was there maybe 10 minutes and then I got pulled by someone on set,” he said.

“They were like, ‘Hey Dab, can I talk to you for a minute?’ And I was like, ‘Yeah sure.’ So she says, ‘Somebody at the table doesn’t want you sitting there,'” Dabier continued. “And I was like, ‘What?’ So she said, “I’m so sorry. It’s not about you. It’s just that the person over there doesn’t feel like you belong in the rest of the group.”

Eventually, the actor believed it was Michele. “I guessed and said, ‘Lea? She goes, [makes a wincing face and nods]. Like, wow, I really got shot because of, like, my status on the show. I never really experienced anything like that, even in high school.”

A crew member blames Joy for brother’s suicide

As the show went on – and got bigger – it became more and more difficult and stressful to work on. Everyone in production had to “work hard…or you wouldn’t be working there anymore,” one person recalled, while another added that the team worked between 72 and 100 hours most weeks.

In addition to the deaths of the show’s stars, there were many others among the production team – from Julia Roberts’ half-sister Nancy Motes to Matthew Morrison’s replacement Mark Watson – who brought many to wonder if there was a curse. “Then it seemed like a pattern of horrible things,” one person said before art director Michael Rizzo said, “We were family, and it was a tough time.”

JA Byerly was a rigger for five seasons. And during this time, his brother Mitchell also worked on set before killing himself at the start of Season 6.

Some crew members thought Mark Salling was ‘a bit offbeat’

After starring in all six seasons of Joy, Mark Salling was arrested in 2015 on suspicion of possession of child pornography after being tipped off by one of his ex-girlfriends. The actor eventually pleaded guilty to receiving and possessing child pornography, which included 25,000 images and videos.

“You can’t bounce back from that and I think he knew that,” said Barbara Munch, the show’s production designer for seasons 1-2. In 2018, Salling was found dead by suicide before he could be officially sentenced.

While the news came as a shock to those who worked with him, some members of the crew and production team thought Salling was different from the rest of the cast. He was allegedly quieter than his co-stars and often kept to himself, leading some people to think he was “a little quirky”.

And although he briefly dated Rivera during Joy, many said that their relationship was very volatile. “Mark’s relationship with Naya was pretty toxic. It was really dramatic. And I didn’t like that for her,” Greer said.

The price of joy airs Monday, Jan. 16 from 9-12 p.m. ET/PT on ID and is available to stream on Discovery+ the same day.

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