Dot-Marie Jones Talks 'Glee' Bullies, Ryan Murphy

Despite rumors that "Glee" creator Ryan Murphy is "tormenting" the cast, Dot-Marie Jones, who plays Coach Beiste, says that's just not the case. Jones blames the rumors on something the characters at William McKinley High School are far too familiar with: bullying.

"It's the bullies putting the [criticism of 'Glee'] out there," Jones tells me, denying that any disharmony exists between the show's cast and creator. "There's something special about the show, and it's Ryan. ... Everybody tries to shoot it down."

She knows a lot about what it's like to be an outsider, says Jones, because she was 5'6" going on 6'1" in the eighth grade.

"I'm sorry I can't hide 6'3". I didn't fit into the norm or what people assume as norm. I'm bigger than my three brothers," Jones explains.

But according to the no-nonsense actress, bullying is only getting worse.

"I think that it's gone way beyond [what] it did 30 years ago, when I was a kid," Jones says. "Because of the extent of the bullying -- it's so persistent, there's the Internet, it's cyber, it's persistent! These kids, no matter where they are, they cannot get away from it."

She added, "A lot of parents are saying, 'Well, I was bullied too. You'll get over it.'" But according to Jones, tough love is not the answer here.

FOLLOW NAUGHTY BUT NICE ROB ON TWITTER

Related on HuffPost:

Comments

[vaf112675]

02:49 PM on 12/20/2011

Bullying is an evil that has gone uncontested for far too long.

We must put a stop to it. It leads to pain, anguish and in the most severe cases even death.

The laws against bullying need to be stricter and the consequences faced by those who brake them need to be harsher.

[Billk29]

01:51 AM on 12/20/2011

Isn't this the guy who tries to bully artists into letting him use their hit songs on the air and when they won't he slams them in the media?

[1GreenMan]

11:46 PM on 12/19/2011

This entire article sort of made me want throw a slushie in Ryan Murphy's face.

[Rob Shuter]

09:50 PM on 12/19/2011

Dot tells it as it is. Gentle Giant.

[enfant terrible]

06:12 PM on 12/19/2011

All boys should have a father to show them how to be men. Girls also need a father. The Rosie O Donalds of the world do not know how to raise boys period.

[Parade Keegan]

06:24 PM on 12/19/2011

I think your comment is off topic and untrue. I've seen too many FATHERS encouraging their little bullies to "be men" to ever give credence to your opinion.

[enfant terrible]

07:05 PM on 12/19/2011

Sorry but your generalizations about fathers have little credence.

[FSMbaby]

07:43 PM on 12/19/2011

I know a few men ( I married one of them ) who were raised by single mothers and are wonderful men. You're theory is just that, a theory.

[enfant terrible]

07:51 PM on 12/19/2011

Not saying a single mom cannot raise a boy. A boy will grow into man if he is raised by a sibling.

[Seymoreclearly]

05:58 PM on 12/19/2011

Bullying does seem to have gotten worse. Why? Lack of decent parenting? Used to be, if you were called to the Principal's office, that was only the beginning of the discipliine you'd receive for misbehaving. Nowadays, parents don't want to admit their children can & do misbehave so they give the adminstrators all kinds grief when they should be disciplining their kids! As if the administrators have done something wrong by calling their kids to account.

I watched a child at the store the other day throw a big fit, laid on the floor & everything. The grandmother glared, waiting for the child's father to do something constructive (like snatch that child up & get her out of the store ASAP). He stood over the child & just jawboned. Sheesh. This is what we mean, people. You don't have to beat a child into submission, but you do need to impose an immediate consequence & remove the misbehaved child from the situation. They'll think twice about doing it again. No words, just action. They speak louder than words most times.

[lefty81]

06:16 PM on 12/19/2011

That's right! Nobody understands discipline anymore. Parents today are raising the "ME Generation", the children who disrespect authority, think they are entitled to everything, curse their mother and father out, disobedient, treat people any old way, all kinds of things. All because their parents are letting them "express themselves" and "work things out on their own" because "they don't want to discipline them like THEIR parents disciplined". Therefore, the children now run the household.

I am only 30 years old, and never in my young life did I think that I would be seeing the kinds of things I am seeing today. It's just disgusting............

[Parade Keegan]

05:49 PM on 12/19/2011

OMG, negative comments about a TV program are "bullying"? Get real, are we supposed to feel sorry for the poor darlings? This stance of theirs diminishes REAL bullying and the REAL victims of bullying. Aren't the true ages of the cast older than high school students? I like the show and cast less now, didn't think it was possible.