“Glee” stars think 'Previously Unaired Christmas' episode 'felt like being controversial' just to be controversial

At the festive time of year, former Glee cast members Kevin McHale and Jenna Ushkowitz are looking back at what they say was intentionally one of their more controversial shows.

They recalled thinking parts of the season 5 episode "Previously Unaired Christmas," which premiered Dec. 5, 2013, were bad ideas when they were making it on a recent episode of their rewatch podcast, And That's What You REALLY Missed.

That night's episode of the Emmy-winning series, which aired from 2009 to 2015, featured Jane Lynch, who played the show's tracksuit-sporting Sue Sylvester, introducing it by saying that the network, Fox, had previously found it too problematic to broadcast. The shtick was that the powers that be had changed their minds after seeing a recut version.

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The episode was full of nods to both Christmas pasts — there's a living nativity scene — and present, like the tight-fitting, colorful costumes that Lea Michele, Chris Colfer, and the late Naya Rivera wore as they worked as mall elves.

Ushkowitz specifically pointed to the performance of "Mary's Little Boy Child" (originally by Harry Belafonte) that her character, Tina, did with Unique (Alex Newell) and Marley (Melissa Benoist). The trio also performed "Love Child" by the Supremes.

"It was like you had to commit so hard, because it was so bad," she said of the first song. "That's what I felt like in this number."

Her former costar saw it differently.

"But that's the thing: I don't think it's supposed to be bad," McHale said. "It's supposed to be controversial.... But I mean, bad is good when it's funny. But I didn't think this was good...and this just felt like being controversial for controversial."

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Ushkowitz said the track was "a funny one to shoot because I hated this song so much...hate everything in this episode. I was so angry in everything in this episode. But yet like watching it, I'm like, This is ridiculous, and it's so funny to me; I couldn't stop laughing during 'Mary's Boy Child.' And I hated the number so much I didn't want to be there, but I had fun doing it. I honestly had fun doing it, because the stakes were so low at that point, right?... I didn't know it. I didn't care. It was offensive. We knew this.... I'm glad that it gave people some laughter."

For his part, McHale, who played New Directions singer Artie, lamented that the episode was his "actual breaking point."

He apologized to anyone on set while he filmed the living nativity scene.

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"My mustache was causing some sort of allergic reaction, and I was itchy and upset, and it was late at night. [I'm] not proud, but I remember when that number came up, I was like, 'What are we doing?'"

Looking back now, he said, it all makes sense.

Both cast members ended up staying with the show until it ended.

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