It Took A Resurgence On TikTok For Us To Realise Just How Cooked ‘Glee’ Was
The COVID-19 pandemic has encouraged a lot of us to revisit nostalgic TV shows and, as a result, Glee is having a bit of a resurgence.
In its prime, Glee was inescapable. The Ryan Murphy series, which ran for six seasons from 2009 to 2015, gave representation to so many minority groups. However, while rewatching, a lot of people are discovering that Glee could be both cooked and extremely problematic.
Now, you’re probably thinking to yourself: How can a show about a high school singing group be so problematic? Well, thanks to TikTok (and the beauty of hindsight) we’ve found six pretty big reasons. Let’s dive in.
Mr Shue Was So Inappropriate — How Was He Not Fired?
@princetongirl181HOW IS THIS A REAL SHOW. MR SHUE IS THE TEACHER LOOKING AT STRAIGHT CAKE ##glee ##fyp ##notapro♬ original sound – ki
Okay, this is probably the biggest realisation for us Gleeks, but it turns out, the sweet, lovely, cool teacher that ran Glee club was actually insanely inappropriate.
From performing sexual songs with his students to openly being flustered when they shook their asses, Mr Shue should have been fired. If you don’t believe me, here’s a 4-minute and 45-second compilation where Mr Shue proved there’s no way he would have passed his Working With Children Check. Like, at all.
The Choreography, At Times, Was Fucked
@peepeepoopooumwhat was the director of glee even thinking. ? #glee #artie♬ original sound – Kara
Now, I’m someone who loves a good choreography moment. So, I will acknowledge that most of the time, Glee was good. However, there was the occasional number where the musical director took things a little too far. This was one of the moments that was a moment taken too far.
The Lack Of Sex Education At McKinley High
@marejonj#glee #fyp this show was so out of pocket? BRITTANY CARRIED THIS SHOW♬ original sound – MARIAN MOSEBY
I know the education of teenagers can be a difficult job. But, it would seem that there was little to no sex-education programs at William McKinley High, because Brittany had no clue where babies came from. I’m not really sure how we let this scene slide, but go off!
Sue Sylvester’s Cover Of ‘Superbass’
@kireiparksStan Sue Sylvester #Glee #nickiminaj #barbz4bernie #barbz #superbass #suesylvester #fyp #zyxcba #barbz4life♬ original sound – Kirei
I can’t quite put my finger on why this video is cursed… It’s just cursed!
Rachel Being A Full-On Racist
@kelseymakesmy room mates and i have a social distancing game where we watch glee and drink every time it’s deeply offensive #foryoupage #fyp♬ original sound – kelsey
Lea Michele may have been dragged for being a problematic figure in real life, but it would seem her character was fairly similar. Shout out to these TikTokers who made a drinking game out of it!
Ryan Murphy Used Dummies Instead of Real People
@kellysiposTHIS NEEDS TO BE SEEN. IM TERRIFIED. RYAN MURPHY EXPLAIN. #foryou #viral #glee♬ original sound – kelly sipos
To round off our list, may I divert your attention to the Glee fan who gazed into the background of one of the Sectionals performances and found literal fake bodies?! Watching so many extras be surrounded by zombie-esque dummies is truly a sight to see.
Speaking of Glee: Remember when Lea Michele and Darren Criss covered ‘Shallow’?