Dot-Maries Jones Talks Emmy Nod & Tackling Domestic Abuse On Glee: ‘It Still Makes Me Cry’

It’s been months since Dot-Marie Jones filmed her tear-jerking domestic abuse-centered episode of “Glee,” but the star – who plays Coach Shannon Beiste on the show – still gets emotional when watching her scenes.

“I’ve watched so many times and it still makes me cry,” Dot-Marie told Kit Hoover and guest co-host Lisa Rinna on Friday’s Access Hollywood Live, of her heartbreaking Season 3 scene with Mark Salling (Puck) where her character confessed she stayed with an abuser because she feared she’d never be loved again.

“It was written so well, and [showrunner] Ryan [Murphy] called me the night after I got the script and was like, ‘Are you OK with this?’ and I said, ‘It’s written so beautifully and what sucks is that we have to do something like this for the young girls and stuff to let them know [abuse] isn’t OK,’” she continued.

While the actress finds it disturbing that an anti-abuse message is still necessary in this day and age, she’s proud to have been a part a delivering the important lesson.

“That fact that we have to have this [type of episode] is pathetic, but the way that they wrote it [was amazing],” she said. “I’ve gotten so many letters and emails from so many women saying, ‘You did it so well and it was so huge and important for my kids to see.’”

Viewers weren’t the only group impressed by Dot-Marie’s performance – the actress was nominated for her second Emmy Award for “Glee” on Thursday – an honor she wishes she could share with her talented co-stars.

“I heard from most of [the cast],” she said. “I’m like, ‘You should be here with me!’”

“Glee” returns for Season 4 on September 13 at 9/8c on FOX.

— Erin O’Sullivan