The Ryan Murphy Horror Story: Glee’s Problematic Showrunner

A lot of people don’t like Ryan Murphy for a lot of reasons, whether it’s because of him letting his personal opinions appear in the writing of his TV shows, beefing with the cast, and exploiting people’s tragedies. He is not someone people are very fond of, and in this video, I look into the reasons why.

Follow Me:

0:00 - Intro
0:35 - Dahmer controversy
3:36 - False promise to Naya Rivera
4:32 - Glee
6:28 - The Glee spinoffs
10:22 - How he targets cast members
12:05 - Does Ryan hate Chris Colfer?
16:36 - Does Ryan hate Qui - I mean Dianna Agron?
22:15 - The Glee Project
26:16 - Biphobia
30:36 - Outro

FAQ
Q: Where are you from?
A: Australia
Q: Is Cid short for anything?
A: Nope
Q: What is that thing on your upper lip?
A: It’s a scar ❤
Q: What camera do you use?
A: Sony Alpha A6400
Q: What editing software do you use?
A: Camtasia Studio


#ryanmurphy #glee #leamichele

[Dark_Aeon]

the vengeful writing was definitely visible with Tina/Jenna. She had asked for more storylines or at least a solo, so he turned her into a bitter mean outcast. He didn't know how to write her character except as an asian stereotype.

[aleahc]

Diana actually confirmed later on that Ryan never reached out to her and her team and she actually didn’t know that they were doing the episode.

[MaraCares]

My first inkling that he was a d-bag was when I watched Kathy Bates in her Vanity Fair career breakdown video saying she'll always regret forgetting to thank him in her Emmy acceptance speech because he was "very upset" about it. This guy made national-treasure-Kathy-Bates feel guilty because she thanked the hard-working crew and forgot His Highness. The ego on this guy is unreal.

[tngy]

Regarding Dianna not being in the tribute episode, I think it was 100% Ryan's responsability to reach out to her and invite her to the episode, especially if they were not in very good terms. I highly doubt that every actor reached out to Ryan and asked to be in the episode. Ryan really excluded her and ruined Quinn's storyline for no reason. Glee got really messed up after season 3 with all this petyness.

[omgmo]

I think Ryan Murphy really doesn't like bi people or lesbians, his shows come of very dismissive of bisexuality, the word is rarely used... And it feels like his lesbian characters are overtly sexual and predatory, and there's a sort of fetishistic element to it. All of the LGBT characters are flawed, yeah, but it seems like they're all written or written about a little maliciously in some ways. And not to mention all the transphobia 🥴

[TheSkinnyZ]

Dianna Agron is a queen and her angelic voice was so underused in Glee! It pains me to this day!

[bubbles]

I do think Ryan refers to Dianna as Quinn as an insult. He says that he wanted Quinn to be this mega bitchy character but Dianna gave her a soul. He’s trying to say that Quinn became more like Dianna because of her acting style and possibly things she wanted done with the direction of the character, and he did not like that.

Also it’s disgusting that he would write insults into the show to target the actors. Santana also really went off on Kurt’s dancing in one scene (possibly the same one). And then to hear they made them film it over and over even though Chris was visibly upset. Ryan Murphy really is something else.

[rainbowbunniie]

I wrote that tweet (about Santana’s rant) that Chris liked. Thanks for featuring it. :) The stuff they had Santana say was awful and way too personal. I was surprised but glad when Chris liked my tweet. Glad that he was able to express his feelings about it in some way.

I’ve always felt like Ryan had it in for Chris for years. He took too many jabs at him in the script. Honestly I think one of his issues with Chris was he didn’t like how talented Chris is. I think he expected Chris to need him and the show because the character of Kurt was created for him but Chris didn’t need Glee. He was great on Glee but he’s also had his best selling book series and made his own movie and other projects.

Chris was also clearly not willing to go along with everything Ryan wanted. I mean no offense when I say this but Lea and Darren were largely taken under Ryan’s wing because they were willing to work on his other projects and basically do whatever he asked (professionally). So he clearly favored them on Glee.

Chris deserved better. If you noticed as the seasons went on in Glee Kurt wasn’t featured (as much as he was in the earlier seasons) and they stopped giving him solos. Still makes me angry after all these years because Chris was one of the best on that show.

[altarium]

Another issue regarding bisexuality on Glee is how they refuse to outright say the word “bisexual” (aside from the Kurt and Blaine conversation) in any point during the series, but instead use “bicurious”.

Brittany says it to Santana when they are making their Born This Way shirts: “you’re lebanese, I’m bicurious”. And Hunter says it to Blaine when they first meet: “and I’m not even remotely bicurious”.

It’s quite the harmful term, as it dismisses bi people as “still questioning” or “confused” about their sexuality, when that is not the case at all.

[francescadulash]

One major issue you didn't mention was the casts contracts. They were signed for 7 years at base industry rates. The cast started fighting Murphy once it was clear he was making a fortune and they didn't even have payrises in their contracts. Murphy allegedly caved.

[smolsnoodle]

bisexuality is either shown to be hypersexual or it's used to say a character is only fully gay really dismissing the complex nature of it and as a bi latina woman it's exhausting

[pxtrova]

The clip of Naya talking about making brittana real breaks my heart... I'll never forget how much she helped me throughout my younger years, how good of an ally she was for us on that ugly show. Ryan really didn't have a chance but to make Britt bi, like you said it wasn't planned at all so we must thank Naya for helping the community, forever. Miss her so badly 😭

[meppep]

I think Ryan Murphy might be homophobic against sapphic people in general. Brittana, despite being one of the most beloved ships from glee, never got as much attention as Klaine did in the show. Quinn was also really close to being queer, and many fans wanted that, but her sleeping with Santanna twice after Brittana’s temporary split was just brushed off like it meant nothing. And years later, when Murphy adapted The Prom stage musical, he basically demoted Alyssa and Emma from being the main characters of the og show to practically side characters in their own story. Barry, the gay character who was _supposed_ to be the side character, was given a more elevated role.

[moonlight_sparkle]

I remember as a closeted bisexual who watched this show religiously and saw the way Brittney was treated (I saw myself in her the most), how Santana and Kurt reacted to somebody being bisexual ESPECIALLY bisexual men, and only seeing lesbians and gays as the only lgbtq+ people in the world, it really really rubbed me the wrong way and made me feel even more ashamed of myself than I already was. And I HATED AND DESPISED the stereotype of how if someone is bisexual, that means they sleep around a lot and can't form a good relationship. NO NO NO NO! That is so wrong on so many levels! I NEVER liked Lea or her character Rachel and always thought she was Ryan's favorite, she played Rachel too good and that to me said a lot about her.

[CyberStockholmSyndrome]

Ryan must be an incredibly unimaginative person if the only way he can write a character is if it’s semi based on the person playing them. Or if he only writes self-inserts/self-service.

[mikeharlow]

In 2013 I got cast for a film role in a movie he was directing. I was told “Ryan hand picked you”. I showed up on set and they told me they wanted to shave my head. I hated the idea but I said okay. “Ryan is so excited to meet you”, they said. So they brought me into a room with him and maybe 20 other people working on the film. (He doesn’t even interact with the actors while filming. He directs from a separate room watching a monitor.). He was being very nasty to his “underlings”, screaming that the monitor wasn’t bright enough. (He was wearing sunglasses…). Then without acknowledging me or saying a word, he put his hand up my costume (a hospital gown) and started feeling me up. I didn’t know what to do so I took his hand and moved it off of me…

They kept me there all day in holding without explanation. (Not just me, but the guy playing my boyfriend. We had a scene together.) I passed Ryan in the hallway at lunch and he gave me the dirtiest look I’ve ever gotten. Finally, at midnight they said “You can go home now”. Never filmed a frame of footage. I got nothing but felt up and a bald head.

That guy sucks! Thank you for making this video. It’s cathartic to know it’s not just me. I have a feeling his number is coming up when the full truth will be known about him.

[highland_persuasion]

As much as I appreciate Ryan for playing a good part in pushing LGBT characters to the forefront of mainstream TV media, increasing their visibility over the last decade, it doesn't excuse his awful, shady behavior towards others, especially people whose talents basically made him a household name (a rarity for producers/directors).

[shmooples]

All this only makes Ryan seem incredibly insecure and rude. Like, you're a professional, a grown ass man, writing horrible little jabs about the cast members you personally don't like. Grow up 🤷

[anabsolutelynormalseraph]

Weird that Ryan hates old people when he looks like one 🕐

[nielsendiaz]

Glee was that series about how bad bullying is which consisted in each character constantly insulting the bodies and personal histories of another