Heather Morris’ Black Eye Photo Sparks Controversy

Another day, another Glee cast member participating in a controversial photo shoot.

Heather Morris, who plays cheerleader Brittany Pierce in the popular FOX musical comedy series, recently posed for a series of shots for photographer Tyler Shields that some say glamorizes violence against women.

In the shoot, Morris is shown in a series of awkward positions with a clothing iron – including one photo where she’s tied up with the iron’s electrical cord and another where she’s seen placing the iron over a man’s crotch – but that’s not what is stirring the proverbial pot.

Instead, it’s the fact that in all of the photos, the 24-year-old dance star is sporting an enormous shiner under her left eye.

“I do.not.get.it,” one commenter wrote on Shield’s website. “Why do you keep producing photos glamorizing violence against women? There is absolutely nothing new or revelatory about pics like this.”

While it’s pretty obvious that controversy attracts attention, and publicity (in this case) sells photos, Shield’s defended himself anyway to Us Weekly, saying that Morris was not intended to be seen as a victim in the photos.

“Our shoot poses a lot of questions, but just like in real life, Heather is definitely not a victim,” he said. “More like a really liberated woman.”

Heather, who rejoins the rest of the Glee crew for the season 3 premiere on September 20th, has yet to respond on the questionable photos.

In addition to the controversial series of shots, Shields also captured some interesting video footage of Morris which can be seen below:

via OTRC