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The cast of Glee has been faced with a myriad of tragedies, starting from the deaths of three of its lead stars. Premiering on ID and streaming on Discovery+, “The Price of Glee” shows the impact of the deaths of Naya Rivera, Cory Monteith, and some of the controversies that plagued the series, like Lea Michele’s reputation with castmates.
Despite the great build up of the series, it only features interviews with background members of the series, among them, dancers, stand ins, entertainment journalists and the like. One of the most significant parts of the documentary feature George Rivera, Naya Rivera’s father, who spoke candidly about his daughter and her accident in 2020, where she accidentally drowned while out boating with her son, Josey Dorsey. He also talked about Rivera’s complicated relationship with Michele. “There was always a fight between them. Always. Everybody knew. Everybody saw it. They hated each other but at the same time, respected each other’s talent,” he said.
Other parts of the documentary detail Monteith’s addiction. “But he was told by a certain cast member that same night, ‘You know what? If you want to have a drink, you should have a drink. I’ll be here. You can always trust that I’ll be here for you,’” said a hairstylist that worked in the series. Following that moment, Monteith allegedly started drinking again.
“The Price of Glee” has been met with controversy from the start. The documentary has been decried by lead actors Kevin McHale, Jenna Ushkowitz and Chord Overstreet. “Show me this ‘cast’ you speak of,” replied McHale to a tweet that said the documentary was made with the show’s cast and crew. “This is [trash].”
“We’re all really close and, you know, pretty much like family, and nobody knows anything about that,” said Overstreet on the Elvis Duran show. “I think it’s a little bit of, like, trying to get people to watch something.”