Jeffrey Mayer/Getty Images; Jason LaVeris/Getty Images
When Abraham Lim was a contestant on "The Glee Project," he said he stood up to the show's creator Ryan Murphy after the producer "assaulted " his character.
Speaking to Insider ahead of the 10-year anniversary of the reality show ending, Lim said Murphy accused him of lying about an ankle injury during the second season.
"I would like to preface this by saying that I love Ryan — he gave me a kiss on the cheek at the finale, and he's fantastic," he said. "But, he did, the entire time, say things like 'Why do your castmates think you're lying about your injury? So you're lying about your injury.'"
"It became this bombarding assault on my character — as if I would lie about having 30 needles in my ankle," Lim added.
Lim said he first sprained his ankle during "Theatricality" week — which was not shown in the final cut — then had to go to the hospital and even receive acupuncture treatments in between shoots.
But during the following "Tenacity" week, he performed for Murphy and the other mentors in the bottom three after struggling through the music-video shoot because of another ankle injury. He said he was "afraid" to ask for an ice pack from producers for fear of being eliminated.
Lim explained to the judges that this is why he struggled to perform during the shoot, but Murphy said he was using his injury as "an excuse."
He had previously received criticism that he was a "kiss ass" to Murphy. So while the judges were deliberating, he came back onstage to tell Murphy that he's "not freaking leaving until I either win this competition or you write a role for me on 'Glee.'"
"I think it was my way of being like, 'My character was just like pretty much assaulted,' and also 'I don't understand,'" Lim told Insider. "I turned down ice packs. If someone takes on something like that with no complaint, how is that not tenacity?"
Ultimately, Lim was sent home that week.
Oxygen Media/Getty Images
"The Boys" actor told Insider he doesn't harbor any ill will towards Murphy, saying "shout out to everyone that was involved in that fiasco."
He also said the show gave him the space "to figure out who I was beyond what I was told" and form new, formative friendships.
"That was the first time I really had a friendship with someone who was trans. This was the first time that I really had a friendship with someone that was differently-abled," he said. "My world was so small, and 'The Glee Project' expanded my world in ways that I will be endlessly grateful for."
He added, "Throughout all the trauma, it was also a really beautiful experience."
Representatives for Murphy did not respond to Insider's request for comment.
