Glee: Hallways of Bribery

Hello, Fanaticals! It's GLEE WEEK! I have been a Gleek for a long time, I'm probably considered an OG Gleek at this point which we get a lot of heat for. The reason for that is because quite a few of the OG Gleeks honestly got completely insane! Many still are a bit overly obsessed with the actors and have trouble separating them from their characters. Thankfully, I can say that I am not one of those. I loved the show, loved the actors, but I see them in other roles and recognize the difference. From Harry Schum popping up in Grey's Anatomy, to Diana Argon's role in the movie Four, they have all gone on their own paths.

However, today we are going to look into a couple theories that came from the show that involve the potential of bribes being passed around in the show. These theories were actually really interesting to me to read, and actually sort of seem plausible to be perfectly honest. So, let's take a look at how there was some Bribery in the halls of McKinley High.

Sugar's Dad is why New DIrections Won Nationals

We know that something had to have happened for Mr. Schuester to allow someone so obviously without any singing talent into the New Directions. While the common theme throughout the entire show is that those who are unaccepted are accepted, there is still generally a baseline of talent involved. Grant it, in this case, it was a merger; but the steps leading up to this kind of merger seem suspicious.

Now, while canonically her father donates the money to the school to start the Trouble Tones after Mr. Schuester rejects her from New Directions, in the end it is ND that goes onto Nationals while the TTs have a number they get to do. However, it seems a bit suspicious that in only their second National competition they suddenly rise from being ranked 12 to taking the title especially as they went up against Vocal Adrenaline who had been four-time champs by that point who magically fell to second place.

This brought up questions among Gleeks of how this was possible? From there, this theory was born. While we already know that Sugar's father had no issue paying for a whole new show choir so that his daughter could perform, could he have also been willing to pay off judges to make sure they won?

It seems a bit far-fetched when you have both Lindsay Lohan and Perez Hilton playing as themselves alongside a Chicago alderman as the judges, because that would definitely be a step price to pay two celebrities off even if paying a politician off seems more realistic. When you take the circumstances into consideration, and a man who clearly thinks his daughter is talented enough to toss money everywhere to make sure she is a winner... It may not be as far-fetched as we think.

So, is it possible that Sugar Motta's father paid off the judges so that his daughter was considered a national winner? Maybe...

Sugar is a Time Traveler

While we are on the topic of Sugar; we do see her father, it is only one time. The fact that we do see him could put a stopper in this theory, but at the same time I absolutely love the obscurity of it as well.

There isn't any real supporting evidence, but apparently is it a widely loved theory in the Gleek World that Sugar Motta is a time-traveler, and that she is Brittany and Santana's daughter who heard the story of how her parents almost didn't get married. She then took it upon herself to go back in time and make sure that they did get married, which meant that she actually got to watch her mother's love story unfold.

This may seem like one of the most out-there theories, but I absolutely love it. You know, in Back to the Future we see how the assumptions of how fast technology will take off is present. Even if we realistically know that in 20 years, we still won't have flying cars, we will still imagine it. Imagining that in 20 or so years there would be the ability to time-travel isn't quite far-fetched in that aspect.

Even if it's the least likely theory, I love this. Being able to see your parents love story unfold is something I'm sure most people would love to see, so I back this theory completely.

Rachel and NYADA

Although there is no true concrete proof, there are definitely some hints at the possibility of this one being true. However, this theory blew up massively when the "2019 Bribery Scandal" happened. For those of you who don't know about that, let me give you a quick rundown about it.

This scandal was given the nickname "Varsity Blues Scandal", in which there was a giant investigation (Operation Varsity Blues) of which at least 53 people were charged as part of the conspiracy, quite a few who plead guilty to the charges. A total of 33 parents of college applicants were charged with paying more than $25 million US dollars between the years of 2011 and 2018 to a man who used part of the money to inflate entrance exam test scores and bribe college officials in order for certain applicants to gain an acceptance letter into the University of Southern California (USC) amongst several other major colleges. Of the parents involved, two celebrities were included: Felicity Huffman and Lori Loughlin.

What makes this theory so funny is that the timeline of Glee actually falls right alongside the timeline of this event. The evidence of possibility, makes it even more believable.

The theory is that Rachel's dad paid NYADA off for her admission, and subsequent Readmission. Why is this believable? We both hear and see that Carmen Tibideaux seems to be very strict in her ways, something that is not uncommonly found in the music theatre world. As it was, she actually was very gracious in allowing Rachel to start over during her initial audition.

If we take into consideration that Carmen had a lot of traits in someone who judges auditions in real life, then it seems a bit far-fetched that she would automatically change her mind about Rachel being granted a coveted admission after her totally choking at her scheduled audition, and seeing at most 43 seconds of her performing It's All Coming Back to Me Now at Nationals, let alone letting what Jessie St James said about her to sway her mind.

The way that she snubbed the school, and then came crawling back begging for yet ANOTHER chance and being granted it also seems super out of character for someone who has that very firm "You messed up" type persona. Therefore, the theory that Rachel's dads paid the school to let her in and then back in actually wouldn't seem out of place for Carmen accepting her not once but twice because it would have been a decision that was made over her head; Carmen would have had no choice but to say yes to her.

What do you think of these seemingly shady back-door deals? Could they be plausible? Or are they just the Gleek's way of explaining the out of the ordinary storylines? Could there have been moments in Glee where bribery was there? Come join our community and tell us what you think! Join me tomorrow as we take a deeper look into some of the famous Glee ships. Until then, keep on theorizing, Fanaticals!