Former Glee actor Heather Morris has apologised after receiving backlash for a series of tweets in which she defended her late costar Mark Salling.
Last week Kevin McHale, who played Artie on the show, quoted a fan's tweet about the episode "A Very Glee Christmas." In one of the attached photos, the fan covered Salling's face with a vomiting emoji.
This album goes hard tho https://t.co/IeqDlhmk4Q
In October 2017, Salling pleaded guilty to possession of child pornography. According to the plea agreement, Salling's laptop contained more than 50,000 photos and videos of child pornography and erotica, with an additional 4,000 found on a thumb drive. Some of the victims were as young as 3 years old.
Salling died by suicide in January 2018 while awaiting sentencing, and the charges against him were subsequently dropped.
But Morris took exception to the fan's use of the vomiting emoji, saying in a now-deleted reply: "The vomit face on Mark's face is offensive."
She immediately received backlash for the reply, with many fans expressing their criticism and disapproval in tweets that racked up several thousands of likes.
@HeatherMorrisTV @druidDUDE i think being a pedophile is a bit more offensive than an emoji
@HeatherMorrisTV @druidDUDE i know he was your friend, but he wasn't a good person, and you have kids, i can't believe you're being serious rn
@HeatherMorrisTV @druidDUDE as a victim of child pornography, this is really disappointing to see from you heather
But Morris simply doubled down on her comment, following up with a series of tweets denouncing her critics for being "disrespectful" and "unkind."
Those tweets were also met with criticism from people who said Morris was being inconsiderate of victims of child abuse, as well as Monteith and Rivera. Morris's tweets have all since been deleted.
@HeatherMorrisTV and thank you for treating with such disrespect the kids and the families that were victims of him. you can have the feelings you want abt him, just don't expect the rest of us to do the same. you just don't have a right to be offended by ppl thinking his photos are triggers
@HeatherMorrisTV show naya and cory some respect, there's no reason to group them together with a PEDOPHILE. and but? but what? he's still a pedophile.
Now, Morris has formally apologised, returning to Twitter on Monday with a statement expressing her regret for "the harm she caused."
"To all those who felt triggered by my message, I want to sincerely apologize for the harm I caused," Morris wrote.
She went on: "Whether you, a friend, a family member has been a victim of pedophilia, I realize my words may have been insensitive to your experience and for that I can't express enough how sorry I am."
The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline is 1-800-273-8255. Other international suicide helplines can be found at befrienders.org. You can also text TALK to 741741 for free, anonymous 24/7 crisis support in the US from the Crisis Text Line.