Lea Michele Debunked The Conspiracy Theory That She Can’t Read

For the record, Lea Michele can read, thank you very much. On the May 8 episode of the Therapuss with Jake Shane podcast, the actor addressed the longtime conspiracy theory that she can’t read and debunked that rumor on camera for the first time.

Michele brought up the theory herself while answering a fan who qualified for nationals at a debate competition. “For everyone who thinks that I can’t f*cking read, I was on the debate team,” she said. “I would write speeches.” When Shane asked how she felt about the rumor, she said that her emotions “depend on the day.”

“Sometimes I think it’s crazy that people care enough about me that they would make up something,” she explained. “That someone has so little to do in their life that they would waste it on me, is hilarious to me. And then there are moments where I f*cking get so frustrated by it because I’m one of the only women in my whole family to get accepted to college.”

The “Lea Michele Can’t Read” Lore

The lore goes back nearly a decade, stemming from an excerpt from late Glee star Naya Rivera’s memoir, which claimed that Michele refused to improvise Glee scenes with a guest star. As a result, podcasters Jaye Hunt and Robert Ackerman theorized that Michele was illiterate and joked that her scripts were read to her by Glee creator Ryan Murphy or her BFF Jonathan Groff.

Michele went on to recall how she found out about the rumor. “I’ll never forget the same day that it all came out, Donald Trump said he was going to punch John McCain in the face or something like that,” she said. “But what was trending online more was ‘Lea Michele can’t read.’ Ryan Murphy called me and was like, ‘Have you heard this rumor?’ and I was like, ‘No, what’s going on?’”

How Lea Proved She Could Read

Eventually, Michele decided to take matters into her own hands. “Give me the notes, I’m reading them!” she exclaimed. “I didn’t memorize them! Jonathan is not here to read me this sh*t.”

She read Shane’s cue cards on camera. “I placed first in my debate competition and qualified for nationals... what does this word say?” she joked. Sadly, Michele wasn’t sure if this was enough to prove the biggest naysayers wrong.

“Oh my god, the theories are going to be like, ‘This doesn’t prove anything. She memorized it. She saw the cards in advance, this proves nothing,’” she said, joking. “I have photographic memory, too. How do you think I memorized all those Rachel Berry [monologues]?”

This isn’t the first time Michele has made fun of the rumor. After posting her first-ever TikTok in 2022, she shared a follow-up video where she quipped, “Calling Jonathan to read me the comments on my first TikTok.”