The Glee Project Contestants Say the Show was 'Anxiety-Inducing' and 'Traumatic'

It turns out competing to star on Glee wasn't quite as fun as it looked. 

In an oral history with Insider, former contestants and producers reveal that shooting Oxygen reality series The Glee Project was anything but glee-ful. "There are a lot of things on that show that, if they happened now, people would be getting canceled left and right," said constant Abraham Lim. "Certain things were handled poorly back then."

The short-lived competition show saw young performers vie for the chance to star on Ryan Murphy's hit musical series, and some of them say the opportunity might not have been worth it. "There were so many great elements of the show, but it was also really anxiety-inducing and there was a lot of trauma," said Lim. "Trauma bonds were made." Contestants were reportedly not allowed to read magazines or books, and the first season's cast members were housed at a summer camp where they were warned to "watch out for ticks" because their bathrooms didn't have roofs. While living conditions in the second season improved, the emotional intensity did not. 

Multiple contestants revealed that they were pressured to reveal personal things about themselves on camera, from sexual assault to sexual orientation. (The show did not end up including the footage for many of these confessions). Like several of his castmates, contestant Cameron Mitchell also called the experience "very traumatic", recalling an occasion that producers set him up to be kissed by Lindsay Pearce on camera when he had a girlfriend. After they tried to get him to kiss a second contestant, he ultimately quit the show. "It truly was one of those moments that altered the course of my life," said Mitchell. "I was forced to stand up for myself. I was forced to confront what it is I wanted, who it is I wanted to be."

Like Mitchell, Pearce is haunted by the experience. It was "abuse, whether they thought it was or wasn't," she said. "They made a successful reality-television show, but the cost was high for some of us."

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Jade Budowski is a freelance writer with a knack for ruining punchlines and harboring dad-aged celebrity crushes. She was previously a reporter/producer at Decider and is a member of the Television Critics Association. Follow her on Twitter: @jadebudowski.