I feel like people forget how chill Naya really was when Glee first aired. She was really quick to take LGBT representation seriously at a time when that really wasn’t discussed very much in the mainstream, and she wasn’t exactly asked a lot of questions that would’ve portrayed it in a positive light? I remember interviewers back then being like “is it weird to have to act like you’re in love with a girl?” “how does your family feel about you playing gay” and stuff like that. This was 10 years ago, after all. And as far as I ever saw (and I was a huge Gleek NERD) - she never hesitated, she was always an ally and always chill. She never made fun of fans in that *eyeroll* “yeah they’re nuts” kind of way that some other actors in queer ships did back then.
Also keep in mind Naya was just 23 years old when Glee first came on. And Glee was kind of her comeback role, she’d had a career as a kid and then had a tougher time finding work. Ten years ago, being more coy and wink wink nudge nudge about it would’ve probably been the easier way to play it but she really didn’t. She kept saying on every panel, every interview I ever saw - that it wasn’t a joke and it was people’s real lives and she was happy people felt seen through her work. I just remember it meant a lot at a time when other actors who played queer favorites would often kind of play it off or try to answer things in a way that was very “BUT I’M STRAIGHT NO ONE GET THE WRONG IDEA!!!”. She never did that. She was gracious about it and still funny and witty and sharp as hell.
I don’t know I just really admire the way she had pride and wouldn’t let people shame her or others. She wouldn’t let interviewers laugh representation or fans off, and she wouldn’t let the press or other people shame her for things - she went on freaking lipsync battle and did a song her ex wrote to diss her for crying out loud. She wrote a very honest autobiography and didn’t back down from difficult topics or stories where she wasn’t perfect, and she tackled questions (at times invasive ones) about those things from the press with grace and humor.
She held her head up high and I just really admire that about her.
