The announcement that "Glee" stars Chris Colfer, Lea Michele and Cory Monteith would not be back for Season 4 may have come as a surprise to the actors, but Amber Riley — who plays sassy diva Mercedes Jones on the hit FOX show — says her co-stars seem to be "OK" with show runner Ryan Murphy’s decision.
"I think everyone's pretty OK with it – we’ve had an amazing two seasons [and] we’re about to do Season 3," the actress, who is currently partnering with Secret for Mean Stinks (an anti-bullying campaign), told Billy Bush and Kit Hoover in an interview on Thursday's Access Hollywood Live. "It’s been absolutely amazing, but I don't want to be a 30-year-old high school student either!
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"'Glee' was just a great catapult for us," she continued. "Nobody knew who we were and we'll always be thankful for it. It's just been an amazing blessing."
Though the McKinley High senior class may be graduating, Amber, 25, said she's sure the talented trio will continue to experience showbiz success long after they say their "Glee" goodbyes.
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"I think they’re fine with it,” she told Billy and Kit. “I don’t think it’s the end of the world for them.”
As previously reported on AccessHollywood.com, last week, Ryan Murphy told The Hollywood Reporter that Chris, Lea and Cory would be leaving the show at the end of Season 3, noting that both Chris and Lea were involved in the talks about their characters graduating.
However, a source close to the show told Access that the three actors had “no idea” the news was coming.