Kevin McHale recalls how Glee co-stars held ‘intervention’ to stop his steriod use

Kevin McHale is reflecting on some of the less glamorous experiences he had while working on Glee, and one of them involved his co-stars Jenna Ushkowitz and Naya Rivera providing him with support when he was ill. 

On the latest episode of the And That's What You REALLY Missed podcast, which is co-hosted by McHale and Ushkowitz, the actor recounted an incident from 2011 where his two co-stars staged an "intervention" in an effort to prevent him from using steroids.

McHale explained that during a flight to England, he was sharing a meal with fellow cast member Cory Monteith when Ushkowitz, who is now 37, and Rivera, who tragically passed away in July 2020 at the age of 33, approached him about his steroid consumption.

“You were all like, 'So, hey, why are you taking these steroids?' I’m like, 'Well, because I’m sick, I’m supposed to take them,'" he recalled. “You were like … 'I think you should stop taking them.’ And I was like, ‘Why?!’”

According to McHale, his co-stars advised him by saying, "You're not sleeping. You're acting crazy. You need to stop taking them." The actor was deeply affected by their words and promptly agreed to discontinue his use of steroids.

He confessed, "I hadn't slept in days. I was losing my mind." 

Although Ushkowitz, who portrayed Tina Cohen-Chang in the series, acknowledged that the prescription was initially necessary, McHale expressed his gratitude for having ceased the steroid use.