With news breaking Tuesday that Matthew Morrison was allegedly fired from his judging gig on “So You Think You Can Dance” because of “inappropriate” texts to a female contestant, some fans of “Glee” are reviving talk about a so-called curse afflicting former cast members of the beloved high school musical TV show.
in the minds of some “Glee” fans, the curse has been implicated in the tragic early deaths of Cory Monteith in 2013 and Naya Rivera in 2020 and the shocking arrest of Mark Salling for child pornography in 2015 and his subsequent conviction and suicide in 2018. According to this theory, the curse also may have its hand in the scandal involving cast members accusing lead Lea Michele of being mean to others on the set of the series, which ran from 2009 to 2015.
Now comes a new controversy involving Morrison, a Tony-nominated Broadway actor, singer and dancer who played the dynamic, encouraging and compassionate drama teacher, Will Schuester, on the Fox TV series.
A source close to “So You Think You Can Dance” told People that Morrison was fired from the Fox reality TV show “after he had an inappropriate relationship with a female contestant” that apparently was one-sided and involved “flirty” texts. This news comes two weeks after the dance competition series aired its season 17 premiere on May 18.
and so the Glee curse continues pic.twitter.com/NsWVWdnS9j
— pec 🤍 (@sexysharksocks) June 1, 2022
“They didn’t have sex, but he reached out to her through flirty direct messages on social media,” the source told People. “She felt uncomfortable with his line of comments and went to producers, who then got Fox involved. He was fired after they did their own investigation.”
The glee curse still going strong https://t.co/LtAPgeFv8T
— 🎀Levi promised and fulfilled🎀 (@rivaigaychou) June 1, 2022
Morrison, 43, and the unidentified female contestant “never met up off-set,” the source said. “It was just messages that crossed the line.”
This news of Morrison’s departure from “SYTYCD” was a shock to some “Glee” fans, in large part because the actor often liked to share news about marriage to actor, model and entrepreneur Renee Puente, according to InTouch Weekly. The couple welcomed the birth of their second child, a daughter, in June 2021.
Wait Matthew Morrison is married and he's sending flirty texts to a contestant?!
— Thom (@ThomDWTS) May 31, 2022
Morrison’s Instagram is filled with happy family photos of Puente and their young children. On Mother’s Day, the actor shared photos of a family trip to Disneyland and of Puente reading to their son and daughter. He also paid tribute to his wife of seven years, calling her “my teacher, inspiration, and best friend. You inspire us to feel all the feelings and you lead with a grace that galvanizes this family together.”
Representatives for Morrison and Fox did not immediately respond to People’s request for comment on the source’s claim that Morrison was fired.
Morrison announced last Friday that he was departing the show. He only said he had broken what he called “production protocols” but didn’t offer details, Entertainment Weekly reported.
In a statement to EW, the actor called the gig an “incredible honor” and said, “After filming the audition rounds for the show and completing the selection of the 12 finalists, I did not follow competition production protocols, preventing me from being able to judge the competition fairly.”
He added, “I cannot apologize enough to all involved, and I will be watching alongside you all on what I know will be one of the best seasons yet.”
According to EW, Morrison will appear on episodes of the show through mid-June, since the show’s early episodes are all pre-taped. Morrison was part of an all-new judging panel, which also includes JoJo Siwa and Stephen “tWitch” Boss. A new judge is expected to be brought in, joining the show in time for the next part of the competition, which begins June 15.
While Morrison has not publicly responded to questions about his firing, Puente was on Instagram Monday, responding to someone’s question about her husband’s departure from the show, InTouch Weekly reported.
“We are not privy to any of the theories and what’s being said out there,” Puente wrote on Monday, the day before People reported her husband had been fired. “Honestly could care less about the gossip. It’s all made up. We know our truth and that’s all the matters. We appreciate the love and support from those like you who truly live heart-fueled, compassionate lives and share the love with us.”
Whatever happened to Morrison and however people feel about the “Glee curse,” the show has been haunted by tragedy.
The first seismic blow to the show and its cast occurred in July 2013, when Monteith, who played lovable quarterback Finn Hudson, was found dead in a hotel room in Vancouver, British Columbia. An autopsy report revealed that Monteith, 31, had died from a toxic combination of alcohol and heroin.
Monteith, who died at the height of the show’s success, had been open with his fans about his struggles with substance abuse and even took time off during the show to go to rehab. At the time of his death, Monteith was dating Michele, who played his love interest, Rachel Barry, on the show.
Tragedy struck again on Jan. 30, 2018, when Mark Salling, who played bad boy Noah “Puck” Puckerman, was found hanging from a tree in a riverbed near his home in Sunland, California. His suicide occurred just six weeks before he was due to be sentenced to four to seven years in prison for possession of child pornography.
Two years later, in July 2020, Rivera, who played lesbian cheerleader Santana Lopez on the show, died at age 33. Rivera, who had dated Sallig, died by drowning while on a boating trip with her 4-year-old to Lake Piru, near Santa Clarita, California.
Following Rivera’s death, debate broke out among “Glee” fans about the so-called curse. Some said it was hard not to think that the show was unusually beset by tragedy, but others said that any speculation about a curse was inappropriate.
She is from glee. She is Santana. She is Leas rival. She is an ex of big Sean’s. And people can say it’s cursed because it’s the third death and she sang if i die young which hit people hard. And even harder now. People can grieve how they choose. Get over it
— PRE3C (@Pre3C) July 9, 2020
Join the Conversation
We invite you to use our commenting platform to engage in insightful conversations about issues in our community. We reserve the right at all times to remove any information or materials that are unlawful, threatening, abusive, libelous, defamatory, obscene, vulgar, pornographic, profane, indecent or otherwise objectionable to us, and to disclose any information necessary to satisfy the law, regulation, or government request. We might permanently block any user who abuses these conditions.