"Glee" star Lea Michele has opened up about the emotional challenges she faced while filming a tribute episode to the late Cory Monteith.
The actor died on July 13, 2013, from an alcohol and heroin overdose at the age of 31, the Independent noted. He and Michele, who starred together as lovers in the show, had been dating off-screen for several months — right up until his death.
In October that year, an episode was filmed in honor of Monteith and his character, Finn Hudson, featuring personal ballads from each character in the hit musical series.
Revisiting those memories, Michele shared with audiences attending one of her shows in City Winery in Washington, D.C., last week just how hard it was for her to film the episode.
"A lot of what I say in that episode to Matt’s character [Will Schuester], in that classroom, were exact words that I said to Ryan [Murphy] after everything," she said, according to the Independent. Michele recalled telling the team working on the show that she did not want to be "treated with kid gloves" and wanted to go back to work and be with her co-stars because it was the only way she knew how to find healing.
"I got to sing this song, and I remember filming it. It was really hard, really hard. I would film it and then I would run off and then I would come back," Michele said.
"We healed together and this song helped," she continued. "I have never watched the episode. It’s the only one I have not seen because I think if I don’t watch it, it just kind of feels like Finn is still there."
She then launched into a performance of "Make You Feel My Love."
Michele, who married Zandy Reich in 2019 and welcomed son Ever Leo in August 2020, paid tribute to Monteith earlier this month on Instagram to mark the ninth anniversary of his death.
Taking to her Instagram Story, she shared a photo of herself and Monteith filming an episode of "Glee in New York City" in 2011, according to People. The tribute featured a single heart emoji below the photo.
Zoe Papadakis ✉
Zoe Papadakis is a Newsmax writer based in South Africa with two decades of experience specializing in media and entertainment. She has been in the news industry as a reporter, writer and editor for newspapers, magazine and websites.
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