Jenna Ushkowitz Says Glee's Infamous VapoRub Scene 'Would Never Fly These Days, and Shouldn’t'

Jenna Ushkowitz didn’t realize how creepy Glee’s infamous “VapoRub scene” was at the time, and, she says, if she had, she never would have done it.

On the latest episode of Ushkowitz and fellow Glee alum Kevin McHale’s re-watch podcast And That’s What You Really Missed, the duo took on the 13th episode of the hit Fox musical series’ fourth season, “Diva,” which included the cringe-worthy scene.

At the top of the podcast, McHale, 36, gave listeners a trigger warning, explaining that the hosts would be discussing the scene and referencing the regrettable term “VapoRape,” which is how characters in the show and some fans refer to the scene in which Ushkowitz’s Tina straddles a sleeping Blaine (Darren Criss) and applies Vicks VapoRub to his chest.

“We just want to acknowledge that we are not minimizing the real meaning of the words that are used in this episode and the following episode,” McHale noted.

“Diva” finds Tina working with gay pal Blaine, for whom she has harbored a secret crush, to unleash her inner diva for a glee club performance. Struggling with a cold, Blaine invites Tina over to his house where, after taking cold medicine, he falls asleep as Tina confesses her feelings for him. That’s when the straddling and the Vapo-rubbing happens.

The scene of her character touching an unconscious friend, Ushkowitz, 38, said, “would never fly these days, and shouldn’t.”

The PEOPLE Puzzler crossword is here! How quickly can you solve it? Play now!

“At the time when I was filming this, it didn't feel strange,” she explained. “I don't think I realized [the implications] or I wouldn’t have done it.”

Ushkowitz had noted earlier in the show that the episode’s script hadn’t originally called for her to straddle Criss. “So, the blocking of it, of you straddling him, I think adds an extra layer,” McHale said. “But it’s also very Ryan Murphy.”

“It just felt like a nice, sweet scene,” Ushkowitz recalled. “Didn't feel creepy at all. I swear to you, or I wouldn't have done it that way.”

Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE's free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer​​, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories. 

“I couldn't see it from the outside view,” she added. “It was a little awkward, I would say, but it wasn't like that, you know, and like the repercussions Tina faced afterwards. And also, it was like, I was just trying to get my lines out and stay emotional and be real and do the thing that I am supposed to do, right, which is make it work. And that was my job.”

Ushkowitz admitted that she’d dreaded rewatching the scene. But, she said, “It’s not as bad as I remember. We've been talking about it, and it's been building up. And then we watched it, and I was like, ‘Oh, no. I'm not gonna watch this.’ ”

“Same,” McHale agreed. “My memory of it was way worse.”