Constantine Maroulis has defended friend Lea Michele amid allegations from colleagues about her off-set behaviour.

The 33-year-old actress has come under fire recently after 'Glee' co-star Samantha Marie Ware accused her of making life ''a living hell'' on the show.

However, Constantine has now jumped to Lea's defence, claiming that he ''genuinely'' liked her when they worked together on stage for 'Spring Awakening'.

Speaking on the 'Behind the Velvet Rope with David Yontef' podcast, Constantine said: ''Lea Michele, you know, she and I had known each other a long time as well from the old days and you know, LA, the 'Glee' kids would come and there was a lot of fun, man. It was a great time for sure.

''She's great. You know, I mean, she, I produced the 'Spring Awakening' revival with Ken Davenport and what a great team.''

The 44-year-old actor and singer added: ''I genuinely liked her and I found her, I find her to be incredibly talented.

''I'm not informed enough to know about all of that stuff that happened on Glee. I just don't know those things, but for me, I'm listening. I'd rather just, I'd rather listen to hear what people have to say.

''And, you know, I think that's just more important than anything right now in this social climate. Like we just have to listen and we have to hear people. And if people felt really offended, then that sucks, you know?''

Constantine also hinted that he had a ''little moment'' with Lea when they worked together on Broadway.

When asked if he was close to Lea, the former 'American Idol' contestant said: ''Yeah, I mean, you know, we're a very close community, you know? So I think we had, yeah, we might've had a little moment together back in the day.''

To listen to the full interview on the 'Behind the Velvet Rope with David Yontef' podcast, go to: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/behind-the-velvet-rope/id1496557812#episodeGuid=5f39411b7ebd0246ae16d324