Damian McGinty Reacts to 'Glee Curse' Theory Surrounding Naya Rivera and Cory Monteith Tragic Deaths
Damian McGinty, an Irish Glee star, has slammed the "Glee curse" theory as he recalled his late co-stars Naya Rivera and Cory Monteith on their death anniversaries.
Naya Rivera, who starred as Santana Lopez, disappeared July 8, 2020, while boating along with her 4-year-old son on Lake Piru in California.
By July 13 that year, her body was found, precisely seven years after her co-star Monteith died of a drug overdose.
The 28-year-old, who became an Irish exchange student Rory Flanagan in the show, told Irish Daily Mirror, "It can be quite uncomfortable when you sort of reflect on it."
Damian, who starred alongside the late actors as a young, up-and-coming teen star, said it hurts him to see people dismiss their deaths as a "curse."
"I knew these people, I knew them as human beings, the rest of the world knows them as characters on a TV show. But I knew them behind those characters, and it is incredibly sad," the actor claimed.
Damian McGinty On The "Glee Curse" Tragedies
Damian McGinty spoke, "But I am like, guys, these are real people, real-life human beings, that unfortunately lost their lives. It's incredibly sad and just real tragedies that can never be forgotten or recovered."
He added, "Cory was one of my favorite guys, I worked my whole first week with him, and he was truly one of nicest guys, and Naya had so much flair and talent."
It was already ten years since he won the "Glee Project" and found himself working with some of the biggest names in the business.
"That can also be defining. That type of fame at that age, sadly, can be fatal. And it is proven time and time again. So I think it is important to kind of sit back and be like, gained a lot of lessons from that, and learned a lot of mistakes."
Just as the fans were already aware of the "Glee curse," to further explain, "Glee" has been plagued by numerous tragedies and traumas.
Aside from Naya Rivera and Cory Monteith, there were more added to the list.
One was the 2018 suicide of Mark Salling, who starred as Noah "Puck" Puckerman, where his death came two months after pleading guilty to possessing child pornography.
"Glee's" assistant director Jim Fuller died in his sleep of suspected heart failure in 2013, and production assistant Nancy Motes, sister of Julia Roberts, died by suicide the following year.
Lea Michele Commemorates Cory Monteith's 8th Death Anniversary
Years after Lea Michele's past boyfriend died, she still remembers and honors Cory Monteith, with who she co-starred on "Glee."
As reported by E!, the 34-year-old "Glee" actress posted an Instagram Story, July 13, to commemorate the eighth anniversary of Cory's passing.
Lea Michele was the first to remember her Cory Monteith š. Look at the heart detail ā¤. #Monchele pic.twitter.com/cM6KBCJ8Sn
— Ibette S. (@SernaqueIbette) July 13, 2021
The said post was a black and white picture of Cory waving to an audience onstage in his character Finn Hudson's varsity football jacket.
