"Glee Project" contestant Abraham Lim may not get the chance to star on "Glee," but at least he made a lasting impression on show creator Ryan Murphy.
After his last chance performance, Abraham, 24, approached Murphy and the other "Glee Project" mentors to let them know that he would not go home until he either won the competition or got a part on "Glee." Needless to say, threats don't really work on the "Glee" showrunner, and Murphy sent Abraham home.
HuffPost TV chatted with the "Glee Project" castoff about his risky encounter with Murphy, his problem with androgyny and his obsession with Fifty Shaded of Grey.
What was going through your head when you went back onstage to talk to Ryan?
Honestly, the goal for me wasn't anything other than me saying what I felt I needed to say to Ryan. He really didn't comment on my last chance performance, and then he asked me why people thought I was faking my injury, so everything felt very unsettling. He said things that questioned my character, and I didn't appreciate that. Since callbacks, I felt like Ryan really liked me a lot, so I was very thrown off by this entire exchange. I was getting really unhappy and angry, so I went back out there and told him that it wasn't my time to go. Standing up to Ryan Murphy is probably one of the most tenacious things that you can ever do in the face of an elimination!
Do you have any regrets?
No! Not at all. At the time, it was very clear to me what I had to do. My mom was a single mother, and she raised me to be a man of character. While I do believe in humility, there are some things that nobody should be able to take away from you. I was going to stick up from myself.
Do you think that if you were to do it all over again, you would have gone back out there and asked to sing your last change song one more time?
Nobody ever said that we could do that! I never would have thought to ask that. I was surprised that Ryan had said that. At the time, I thought that I had done pretty well. I liked my last chance performance. I felt really good! To me, it was never about my performance. He never commented on it. I just wanted more feedback, and I wanted to tell him what was on my heart. People have been calling it, "Abraham's Tirade Against Ryan." What are you ever seen a tirade? It's really, really bad.
Last week, Lily did a similar thing and stood up to Ryan, telling him that she wasn't ready to leave. It seemed to work in her favor.
I know. I would never curse at my perspective employer. I love Lily, but I don't do that. Ryan is someone that I admire and respect, and I just wanted to be honest with him. I think when it comes to Ryan, it's better to say too much than nothing at all.
Let's talk about that video shoot. How many calories do you think you burned?
I think I burned off my entire body weight! I'm not even joking. We all watched that episode together -- all seven of us -- and we all cringed. We could not believe that we actually lived through that.
And that jump rope scene? Why do you think you, Lily, Aylin and Michael were having such a hard time?
Does it look like Michael and I can double dutch? No. It was so hard. And then nobody knew how to double dutch. We asked Zach [Woodlee], and he had no idea. It pretty much took us 20 minutes to learn how to double dutch, and to a certain degree, Michael and I did get it, but it was all just a mess. We couldn't get coordinated, and I think at that point, they were like, "Ok, we need to scrap this." From then on, it was just jump rope. The hard part was performing. Even if we tripped and fell, we were expected to perform from the floor. It was exhausting, but it was a great learning experience. Who knew you could learn so much from a jump rope?
I'm sure you'll never look at a jump rope the same way ever again.
Oh, I do not go near those nasty things ever. They're terrifying!
Now, you got injured on set, and some people thought that you were using that as an excuse. How bad was your injury?
I fell really hard. My back bent, and it was absolutely terrifying. When I was watching it back with Aylin, she was like, "Sorry, I'm not sorry." And I was like, "Girl, don't even talk to me right now." It's a competition. Let's be real. I can say, "Oh, they're faking their breakdown, as they're being pummeled by slushies," but I've never been that type of competitor. I don't want to beat you when you have laryngitis! I want to beat you at your very best. When people have to bring people down with such poor competition tactics, it's telling of their character.
Do you feel more comfortable with the word androgynous?
I've never felt uncomfortable with the word androgynous or any other label. For me, the reason I was so offended by Nikki's [Anders] question at the time was because what the hell does any of this have to do with my singing? Really? Right before I start singing, you're going to ask me a question about my gender identity? I know that David Bowie is androgynous, and she was probably asking about the character, but her tone was very insinuating. I didn't like that. I don't like labels. When I said, "I'm free," that was me being honest! Nikki may not have felt that way, but it's true.
Would you have liked to play an androgynous character on "Glee?"
I would have loved to play a very edgy and cool guy from New York. Rachel would leave McKinley, and I would come in as a transfer. I could either come between Kurt and Blaine or be gender ambiguous. We have Kurt and we have Santana, but there's not a character who's androgynous. Guys and girls would both love me! But he would have to be a little manipulative. I'd be like, "Hello! I'm devious."
So you would have no problem playing a gay or bisexual character?
They could ask me to play a murderer, and I would do it!
"Glee" is really great at taking cultural references and working them into the script. I know that you recently read Fifty Shades of Grey. Do you think that could make it on the show?
Oh my god! How did you know that? Yes, I did. It's so bad. I read all three. I'm such a dork. Actually, here's a fun fact: I was carded when I went to buy the book! I was like, "Thank you for making my day!"
"The Glee Project" airs Tuesdays at 10 p.m. ET on Oxygen.
