FOX’s hit musical comedy series Glee primarily centered on Rachel Berry’s rise from overachieving high school drama queen to Broadway star, but viewers often found themselves gravitating towards other members of McKinley High’s New Directions. Hilarious characters like Brittany S. Pierce and Sam Evans and wildly talented Glee Club members like Blaine Anderson and Mercedes Jones became fan-favorites, but for some people, it was always all about fashionable and sassy countertenor Kurt Hummel.
Actor Chris Colfer first auditioned for the role of Artie Abrams, but when that part went to Kevin McHale, Ryan Murphy and his production team decided to write the character of Kurt Hummel for Chris. Kurt was one of the very first students brave enough to join Mr. Schuester’s controversial and instantly-unpopular New Directions, and his bravery continued and inspired viewers for the series’ entire six-season run. He went through countless struggles which nearly all gay teenagers face in high school and college, but he rose above the ignorance and cruelty of his peers and overcame his own insecurities to reach the happy ending he earned at the end of the show.
Kurt was definitely one of the best parts of Glee, but the show’s writers made their fair share of mistakes when it came to his character and development. Some of his decisions just didn’t make any logical sense, and he made several frustrating and self-sabotaging mistakes throughout the series which viewers still haven’t gotten over.
Here are 20 Things That Make No Sense About Kurt Hummel.
20. MERCEDES BELIEVED HE WAS IN LOVE WITH RACHEL
Kurt was always very unapologetically himself on Glee, so most students at McKinley High had figured out he was gay before Kurt starting being open about his orientation himself. He always wore designer brands, gave unsolicited fashion advice, gushed about his love for Broadway’s greatest hits and wasn’t exactly subtle when it came to his crush on quarterback Finn Hudson. Yet for some reason, Mercedes Jones couldn’t see what everyone else saw and developed a crush on her new best friend.
Instead of just telling Mercedes the truth, Kurt convinced her that he couldn’t be with her due to his crush on fellow New Directions member Rachel Berry. This broke Mercedes’ heart, because she was already constantly competing with Rachel for solos in Glee Club. If she was a little less oblivious to the obvious truth about Kurt or he was more honest with one of his closest friends, Mercedes could have been saved of some major, ridiculous heartache.
19. HE TAUGHT THE ENTIRE FOOTBALL TEAM THE “SINGLE LADIES” DANCE
When Kurt’s father walked in on him dancing to Beyoncé’s Single Ladies (Put A Ring On It) with Tina and Brittany, the closeted young teenager scrambled and lied about the dance being a warm-up he learned while on the McKinley High football team. Kurt then “auditioned for the role of kicker” at school, and actually turned out to be solid in the position. That was definitely a shock, but it didn’t compare to what happened at the next big game.
Finn convinced the football team that dancing could help them loosen up before playing, and Kurt somehow managed to teach all of his new teammates the Single Ladies dance in a few short hours. There’s no way football players are all that good at learning choreography, and no way they’d perform that dance in front of all of those spectators.
18. KURT SABOTAGED HIS OWN “DEFYING GRAVITY” AUDITION
When Kurt found out that his dad was receiving anonymous phone calls at his workplace from people who were intolerant of Kurt’s orientation, he decided to dim the spotlight he’d placed on himself for his father’s sake. He had challenged Rachel to a “Defying Gravity” sing-off, but since that song is traditionally sung by a woman, Kurt purposely cracked on an important high note so people would stop harassing him and his father about his effeminate behavior.
Kurt’s willingness to sabotage his audition to potentially make his dad’s life easier was noble, but it simply didn’t make sense. He could have actually tried to sing the solo (which was well within his range) and just turned it down if it was offered him. That would have knocked Rachel’s ego down a peg and given Kurt a chance to prove his underrated talent.
17. HIS PURSUIT OF FINN GOT CREEPY
There’s nothing wrong with having a little crush on a classmate, especially one as sweet and talented as Finn Hudson. Unfortunately, Kurt’s pursuit of the quarterback and New Directions leader bordered on overly-aggressive at times, and made even his biggest fans uncomfortable.
Even though Kurt knew Finn was straight, he went out of his way to manipulate Finn and try to force him to reciprocate his feelings. Kurt purposely gave Rachel bad relationship advice to keep her and Finn apart, and he introduced his father to Finn’s mother in the hopes of the two widows hitting it off so he could spend more time with his crush. Kurt insisted that he was happy about potentially becoming Finn’s brother, but it was clear that he wanted more than that. Luckily Blaine eventually came around and won Kurt’s heart, because Kurt’s Finn obsession was getting creepy.
16. HE WANTED GLEE CLUB LEFT OUT OF THE YEARBOOK
Even though Kurt was bullied by some of his classmates on a daily basis and had countless Slushies thrown in his face throughout his time at McKinley High, he refused to change who he was to make other people happy. That’s why it didn’t make sense when he tried to convince his fellow New Directions members to keep their picture out of the school yearbook.
When his friends displayed disappointment over the possibility of their club not making it into the yearbook, Kurt pulled out several old yearbooks and pointed out that students love defacing pictures of the Glee Club in an attempt to prove that their absence was for the best. Glee’s writers clearly forgot that Kurt wasn’t one to really care about the opinions of his ignorant peers, so this sudden willingness to hide from their judgment didn’t fit his character.
15. KURT FAILED TO RECOGNIZE HOW MUCH HIS DAD LOVED HIM
Burt Hummel may be the best father in television history. Even though he was an incredibly masculine man whose favorite hobbies were watching sports and fixing cars, he wasn’t above sitting down for a tea party with his son or supplying Kurt with his flamboyant and expensive wardrobe. He was the kind-hearted, open-minded dad every teen wishes they had, but Kurt often failed to realize just how great Burt really was.
Kurt couldn’t get over Burt’s close relationship with Finn, and hated that they bonded so quickly over their mutual love for football. In an attempt to make Burt pay more attention to him, Kurt briefly went through a phase where he dressed in flannel and sang John Mellencamp songs. It wasn’t until Burt told Kurt for the dozenth time that he loved him just as he was that Kurt finally acknowledged his father’s unconditional support.
14. HE TURNED DOWN THE ROLE OF FRANK-N-FURTER
When Mr. Schuester revealed his plan to hold a school production of The Rocky Horror Show, he immediately offered Kurt the role of Frank-N-Furter, one of the popular musical’s lead roles. Kurt turned the part down because Frank-N-Furter wears fishnets, high heels, and lipstick, and he didn’t want to be subjected to more cruelty from his intolerant peers.
Kurt was brave enough to dress flamboyantly on a daily basis and powered through a lot of bullying at McKinley, so it’s not like things could really get worse. Playing Frank-N-Furter would grant Kurt some big solos and a chance to prove to the world just how talented he was, but he took the easier route and asked to be cast as minor character Riff-Raff instead. This was incredibly disappointing to Kurt’s fans, who hoped he’d finally get the chance he deserved to become a star.
13. HE REFUSED TO BELIEVE BLAINE MIGHT LIKE GIRLS
The community praised Chris Colfer’s portrayal of Kurt Hummel on Glee, because his character put a spotlight on serious issues being experienced by real teenagers across the world. Colfer won three consecutive Teen Choice Awards, was nominated for two consecutive Primetime Emmys and even earned the Best Performance award at the 2011 Golden Globes. That’s why it was a shock when Kurt denied the existence of countless members of the community he was supposed to represent.
When Blaine kissed Rachel during a wild Glee party, he momentarily thought he might be attracted to both guys and girls. Kurt repeatedly insisted that this was impossible, and told Blaine he had to just be confused. Kurt turned out to be correct, but his refusal to even consider the possibility that Blaine or anyone else can be genuinely bisexual was very ignorant and out-of-character.
12. HIS FRIENDSHIP WITH KAROFSKY
Dave Karofsky went out of his way to make Kurt’s time at McKinley High a nightmare for years. He repeatedly harassed Kurt, threw Slushies in his face and even threatened Kurt’s life. Viewers later found out that Karofsky’s frequent bullying was his way of hiding his own insecurities about secretly being attracted to men, and while this made him slightly more sympathetic, it definitely didn’t excuse his behavior earlier in the series.
When Karofsky told Kurt that he loved him and Kurt said he wasn’t able to reciprocate those feelings, Dave tried to end his own life. Kurt felt so guilty, he immediately agreed to befriend his former tormentor. Kurt shouldn’t have been made to feel responsible for Karofsky like that, and it was weird for Glee’s writers to force Kurt to forgive Dave in such a manner.
11. kurt and chandler
When Kurt graduated and moved to New York City, his relationship with Blaine fell apart. He found himself to be too busy with his work at Vogue and school to respond to most of his boyfriend’s calls and texts, so Blaine was unfaithful on Kurt in hopes of stifling his extreme loneliness. Blaine begged Kurt to forgive him, but Kurt ended their relationship. He clearly forgot that he had done the same to Blaine first.
Earlier that year, Kurt entered into a secret text relationship with a fellow Broadway lover named Chandler who sent him constant flirtatious messages. Kurt hid this from Blaine, but when he eventually found out, Kurt said he was texting Chandler because Blaine had been growing distant from him and Chandler made him feel special and wanted. That’s basically the same reason Blaine did what he did, so his inability to forgive him was unfair.
10. HE NAILED HIS NYADA AUDITION BUT DIDN’T GET IN
When Rachel and Kurt auditioned for NYADA, they planned to perform songs they’d practiced for years. Rachel sang Don’t Rain On My Parade, having already nailed a performance of that song at a previous Sections with the Glee Club. Kurt was going to play it safe with Music of the Night, a song which Carmen Tibideaux complained she’d heard countless times before.
At the last second, Kurt decided to take a risk by singing Not the Boy Next Door instead. He nailed the performance, and even the notoriously critical Ms. Tibideaux gave him praise. Rachel, meanwhile, forgot the words to the song she’d sung hundreds of times and had an awful audition. Somehow Rachel got in to NYADA and Kurt didn’t. Granted, Rachel harassed Carmen until she finally granted her acceptance to the school, but it was still illogical that she got in before Kurt.
9. KURT WAS SOMEHOW IMPOSSIBLY RICH
When several members of the original Glee Club graduated from McKinley High, the writers of Glee struggled to keep them involved in the show and have them help out with Mr. Shuester’s new New Directions. In addition to making frequent trips back and forth between Ohio and New York to see Blaine, Kurt repeatedly journeyed back to McKinley to help out with Glee Club assignments and assist with recruitment.
This would have been enough to empty the bank account of any recent high school graduate, but Kurt somehow also had enough cash to afford a massive loft in New York City with Rachel Berry. A loft that big would undoubtedly cost a lot of money, so unless Kurt’s Vogue internship paid several hundred dollars per hour, there’s no way he should have been able to afford his lavish lifestyle.
8. HE LEFT HIS PERFECT JOB AT VOGUE
Most interns find themselves fetching coffee, making copies and doing other insignificant tasks for little to no money, but Kurt’s internship at Vogue.com was basically a dream come true. His boss Isabelle Wright was instantly impressed by his style and gave him the freedom to express his ideas for the site and weigh in with his thoughts during important Vogue meetings. Kurt helped inspire Vogue’s new marketing strategy, and was given full credit for his contributions.
When Kurt finally got accepted into NYADA, Isabelle promised him he’d still have a job there while he was at school. For some reason, though, viewers never saw him at Vogue again. It was basically the perfect job for the young fashion expert, but he seemingly just let it slip away.
7. HE DISAPPEARED FROM ADAM’S APPLES
When Kurt was first introduced to Adam Crawford and his NYADA Glee Club, Adam’s Apples, viewers thought they’d finally get the chance to see Kurt perform on stage regularly again. The club was filled with outcasts and was unappreciated by students at the school, so the parallels between Adam’s Apples and the New Directions helped Kurt feel right at home with the group.
Unfortunately, fans only got to see one Adam’s Apples performance, a hilarious stripped version of Baby Got Back. The writers seemingly forgot the group existed until Adam kicked Kurt out of it for breaking his heart by getting back together with Blaine, and he never tried getting back into the group.
6. HE ACCEPTED BLAINE’S PROPOSAL
Nearly every possible combination of New Directions members got together at one point or another over the course of Glee, but the relationship between Kurt and Blaine was always the clear fan favorite. Everyone hoped the high school sweethearts would be able to find a happy ending together, and fans rejoiced when Blaine gathered all of Ohio’s top show choirs to help him propose to his soulmate.
The gesture was undoubtedly sweet, but it was clear that Blaine and Kurt weren’t ready to get married. Kurt had just gotten over Blaine’s infidelity, and the pair hadn’t even officially started dating again yet. Kurt still accepted the proposal, but it didn’t take very long for him to realize he’d made a mistake.
5. HE INSTANTLY FORGOT WHY HE CALLED OFF THE ENGAGEMENT
Kurt had countless legitimate reasons for calling off his engagement with Blaine. Blaine was overly pushy when it came to the cleanliness of their apartment, he was jealous of the attention Kurt received from their fellow NYADA students, and he accidentally struck Kurt during a stage combat training session in a burst of anger. The beloved couple just wasn’t happy, so their break-up made total sense.
For some reason, though, Kurt immediately tried getting back together with Blaine just a few months after their split. He and Blaine hadn’t had enough time to grow or change, so there was no way to be sure things would get any better if they became a couple again, but Kurt didn’t care. Viewers had to suffer through another season of “will they or won’t they” drama as the show’s writers toyed with their emotions.
4. KURT FORGAVE BLAINE FOR DATING HIS BULLY
When Kurt returned to Lima to try to win Blaine back, he discovered that his ex was dating Dave Karofsky, the reformed bully that threatened to end his life in high school. Kurt was already in a fragile emotional state because he regretted ending his relationship with Blaine, but this revelation made things significantly worse.
Blaine got to witness first-hand just how awful Karofsky was to Kurt at McKinley High, and while it was apparent that Dave had changed and matured since then, it still seemed really weird for Blaine to fall for him. It was even weirder for Kurt to just accept this betrayal and immediately forgive Blaine for entering into a relationship with his old bully. Certain people should just be off-limits when it comes to dating, and a soulmate’s former tormentor should be on that list.
3. HIS RELATIONSHIP WITH WALTER
In an attempt to get over Blaine, Kurt experimented with speed dating and meeting up with men he’d met on online dating applications. He eventually met Walter, a man who had used a picture from twenty years prior on his dating profile and was actually in his fifties. Kurt considered ending the date early, but he sympathized with Walter’s struggle to find love so late in his life and found himself enjoying Walter’s company.
He and Walter then entered into an extremely weird relationship, where neither of them really knew whether or not they were dating. This was a bad idea for both men, since Walter was seeking a relationship and Kurt was still very much in love with Blaine.
2. KURT REFUSED TO SUPPORT SANTANA AND BRITTANY’S ENGAGEMENT
When Santana proposed to Brittany, nearly all of the New Directions congratulated the couple and agreed that they were meant to be together. Santana and Brittany had experienced similar struggles after Santana graduated from McKinley High as Kurt and Blaine had after Kurt moved to New York, but since they rarely fought and always found their way back to each other, everyone supported their engagement.
Kurt, however, stood up and immediately told them that they were too young to get married. His failed relationship with Blaine had made him bitter, and he couldn’t put his own emotions aside to be happy for his friends. This sudden denial of the potential for young love was very bizarre for his character, especially since he still intended on getting back together with Blaine.
1. HIS SPONTANEOUS MARRIAGE
Kurt struggled to support Santana and Brittany’s perfectly healthy relationship when the couple got engaged because he thought they were too young, but he had no problem getting married to Blaine at their ceremony. Just like how they hadn’t been a couple for months when Blaine proposed to Kurt, Blaine and Kurt hadn’t been a couple for months when they shockingly exchanged vows to be together forever in front of all of their family and friends.
It was beautiful to see two of Glee’s most inspirational and adorable couples get married beside each other in one of the final episodes of the series’ final season, but Kurt’s wedding seemed incredibly rushed. He and Blaine still hadn’t worked out their laundry list of problems, and while we learned in the final flash-forward episode that they were very happily married and starting a family together, their spontaneous marriage still felt a bit illogical and unrealistic.
Is there anything about Kurt that makes no sense on Glee? Let us know in the comments!
