‘Glee’ Cast Members React to Mark Salling’s Death
On Tuesday (January 30), former Glee star Mark Salling was found dead, his body hanging from a tree in a riverbed of Sunland — an area of Los Angeles. The death has been ruled as suicide. He was 35 years old.
Reactions to the actor's death have been polarizing, to say the least. Salling was awaiting sentencing over charges of child pornography possession (he plead guilty on September 30, 2017). Now, his fellow Glee cast members are speaking out about the loss.
A TMZ photographer asked Jane Lynch about the death. “It’s sad and very tragic,” she told the outlet.
When asked how she will remember Salling, Lynch said, “As the guy who made that really sweet video in the beginning of Glee when he was so happy to be a part of this group.” She then added, “It’s tragic and I’m brokenhearted over it.”
Other cast members took to social media to express their reactions, including vocal arranger Tim Davis, who urged people celebrating Salling's death to remember he was a broken man.
“Today we lost another #Glee cast member,” Davis tweeted. “Yes, he committed crimes against children.Yes, it’s horrific. But #MarkSalling was a broken man, no doubt an abuse victim himself. I loved Mark, and am sad when I consider the devastation of his parents. PLEASE withhold your cruel comments.”
“Let me be clear. Having compassion for #MarkSalling in no way minimizes his crimes, nor does it minimize the pain and devastation of the victims of those crimes," he continued in a second tweet. "I’m just saying stop adding to his family’s pain. This was their son. If you’re without sin, feel free to cast stones.”
Read their reactions below.