Glee star Lea Michele breaks her silence on rumors circulating the internet that she’s illiterate. She revealed that her former boss, Ryan Murphy, was the first to inform her about the viral theory. Speaking on Jake Shane’s Therapuss podcast, Michele said that Murphy “called me and was like, ‘Have you heard this rumor?’ And I was like, ‘No, what’s going on!'”
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The bizarre claim gained traction in 2017 after the One More Thing podcast used anecdotes from Naya Rivera’s memoir to theorize that the Glee star couldn’t read or write because her early years as a childhood performer left little time for her to learn and thus had to memorize all her lines.
Michele has repeatedly debunked the rumor, highlighting the unlikelihood of memorizing extensive scripts and joking that Murphy, a busy producer, would never have time to read scripts to her. Despite publicly dismissing the theory in interviews, including with Andy Cohen and The New York Times, the meme persists.
In 2022, Michele called the theory “sad. It really is. I think often if I were a man, a lot of this wouldn’t be the case.”
Denial & Acceptance
Michele has since leaned into the humor, referencing the rumor playfully on TikTok and in connection with her Broadway role in “Funny Girl,” originally played by Barbra Streisand.
When the 38-year-old New York City native joined TikTok in fall 2022, she captioned her debut post, “Calling Jonathan to read me the comments on my first TikTok,” playfully referencing the rumor and her close friend and Spring Awakening co-star, Jonathan Groff.
In 2023, she posted another tongue-in-cheek TikTok about her lead role in the Funny Girl Broadway revival – originally played by Barbra Streisand – joking, “265 days to learn to READ!!!!” in reaction to the upcoming release of Streisand’s memoir.
Additionally, Lea Michele’s own book, Brunette Ambition, offers personal insights into her life and career.
