Top 10 Times Glee Poorly Handled Serious Issues

"Glee" was out of its element with these serious issues. For this list, we’ll be looking at musical comedy-drama’s worst attempts at covering weighty topics. Our countdown includes the school scare, teen pregnancy, trans reputation, and more! Which serious issue do YOU think "Glee" botched? Let us know in the comments!

Watch more great "Glee" videos here:

Challenge friends and family on our multiplayer Trivia!

Have Your Idea Become A Video!

Subscribe for more great content!

MsMojo is a leading producer of reference online video content of Top 10 Lists, Origins, Biographies, Commentary and more on Pop Culture, Celebrity, Movies, Music, TV, Film, Video Games, Politics, News, Comics, Superheroes. Your trusted authority on ranking Pop Culture.

#Glee #SeriousIssues #Musical #Fail #Gleeks

[angelaholmes]

I was disappointed that the writers treated Ryder's sexual assault like that

[deenadallas]

Marley Rose was the purest and kindest character in "Glee, " and she was so likable, but she was still TREATED LIKE CRAP!
She was manipulated by Kitty Wilde into thinking that she was gaining weight, most of the Glee Club blamed her for making them lose at Sectionals because she fainted (because the Glee Club only cared about winning more than Marley's mental health, and they never called out Kitty for her manipulative actions), and while she was recovering from her eating disorder, she got suspended for not wearing a revealing outfit? That's messed up.

Poor Marley. She's one of those characters who absolutely deserved better, along with Tina Cohen-Chang and Mercedes Jones.

[reyfan]

Hearing Kurt say bisexuality isn’t real was a shocker and disappointing. I wanted to think he was just angry about Blaine considering dating Rachel he said whatever he could to make sure he doesn’t

[AliAngelpie]

Whoever decided to vote Mr. Shue as Best Teacher clearly never noticed when he was an inappropriate creep. Both he and Sue and Sandy should not have been allowed to teach children

[angelaholmes]

Finn outing Santana was truly horrible

[matariki]

About the Ryder thing : I actually think it was an honest, though upsetting, representation. Pretty sure in that pre-me Too era any straight boy would have reacted the same way Sam and Artie did, and Mr Schue, for once, did have a decent reaction to the whole thing.
However, they dropped the topic too quickly and Ryder's story with Kitty should have explored that a bit : trust issues, difficulties engaging in a sexual relationship, maybe even going to the police together or choosing not to and explaining the reason why.

[Elrewin]

Marley (a teenager) being suspended for not wearing a bra in front of everyone really left a bad taste in my mouth. I guess Schuester wasn't doing it for pervy reasons, but it's not right. I didn't understand why they didn't make her mom march in there and remind Will that the Glee Club might be his whole life, but hurting her daughter's future (with a permanent mark on her school records which could hurt her college applications later) for one freaking performance was out of line.

[gabirivera]

marley’s eating disorder will never sit right with me. they all made her feel like shit about it especially when she fainted at Sectionals and it was like no one took her seriously.

[theofficialVEVOformu]

They handled Ryder’s dyslexia story in such a horrible way. Marley didn’t even want to postpone her date with him because she was impatient. And Ryder literally had to see someone to help him with his problem.

[raquellopez]

Finn outing Santana was awful, but I would've added Santana's body shaming of Finn to the list as well. And this is coming from someone whose favorite character is Santana. He made a horrible choice and there's no excuse for it, but he was trying to "get back" at her for her bullying, he didn't just get up one day and decided to out her out of nowhere.

[scottibrown]

Ryder revealing that he was sexually assaulted by his female babysitter is something that doesn’t really get representation. Even in shows like Law and Order: SVU most of the episodes center on female victims. And Glee missed out on a potential pairing when Kitty reached out to Ryder and tells him that she knows how he feels because she reveals that a former friends older brother assaulted her.

[Jenifer_R_]

The reaction to Ryder's molestation still bothers me to this day. But the truth is this is a likely reaction from teenage boys, as is never getting an apology for it. He was helped by Kitty, as I think they were trying to say that only someone who had gone through it can understand.

[SenoritaTorres]

I was utterly gobsmacked when everyone treated Ryder like he was LUCKY he got molested as a child.

[Dead-or-Alive]

Dude Marley deserved SO MUCH BETTER!! Girl literally never did anything to anyone and somehow everyone still found some way to shit on her the whole time

[Jigglypowerpuffgirl]

The biphobia in this show really affected me and my friend group in high school. I knew people who were very vocal about bi being a phase and actively agreeing that Santana deserved a lesbian gf.

[ecnalreleam]

Thanks for addressing biphobia. I haven't watched much Glee, but it's good to see biphobia addressed on a list.

[rocketdave]

In the episode "Grilled Cheesus, " I thought the other characters were pretty disrespectful to Kurt when he revealed he was an atheist. When Mercedes took him to her church near the end, even if it was well-intentioned, I still felt like she was trying to push her religion onto him.

[FionaApplewright]

The best way to describe Glee is "for entertainment purposes only". I'm not very knowledgeable on all the LGBTQ+ stuff personally, but even while watching this during airing I knew there were some heavy mistakes in representation of tolerance and understanding. I can't name a single character that was a good role model for anything more than 50% of the time. Everyone had their major wtf moments, and WAY too much was used for humor instead of real life relateability.

[allyhosza]

coach beiste was GREAT trans representation!! often times those who come out later in life deny their true selves from a young age. the fact that he wanted to be seen as a woman so badly was to suppress any thoughts he had about his true self. everyone has their different journeys and they never look the same... it's important to remember that! this storyline did not come out of nowhere. sheldon was struggling with gender identity the entire time on the show. him coming out seemed beautiful for the character and it makes us understand him so much more.

[glogler]

Me. Shue had multiple red flags on the show like Twerking with the students and saying “Your all minorities”