Glee star Lea Michele has poked fun at the bizarre fan conspiracy theory that she can’t read in a cheeky TikTok that has won some fans over.
WATCH: Lea Michele singing “Don’t Rain On My Parade’ in Glee
For those who missed it, there is a long-running online joke that the actress is illiterate and has all her scripts and lines read to her, or fed to her via an earpiece.
Poking fun at the conspiracy theory – which Lea is very much aware of – the star took to TikTok this week for the first time with a video that seemed to confirm it.
“Calling Jonathan to read me the comments on my first TikTok,” read a caption over a clip of Lea looking confused while she called pal Jonathan Groff, of Hamilton fame.
It was clear that Lea was only playing into the wild theory, rather than actually confirming it, but some fans took the joke and ran with it.
WATCH: Lea Michele pokes fun at fan theory she can’t read
“Whoever on her team had this idea deserves a raise,” one comment read, another adding: “She knows, who read the comments to her?”
The actress was previously forced to debunk the theory in an interview with The New York Times in September 2022.
However, she was lashed by fans because she addressed claims she bullied her co-stars on Glee in the very same interview, with critics calling it a “cop out”.
The actress and singer responded to Samantha Marie Ware’s 2020 allegations that she made “traumatic microaggressions” towards her.
The Black actress claimed Lea threatened to get her fired and “s—t in her wig”, while other Glee stars have shared allegations of similar bullying behaviour from the actress.
“I have an edge to me. I work really hard. I leave no room for mistakes,” Michele said in response to the claims, adding that she had spent a lot of time “reflecting” since.
“That level of perfectionism, or that pressure of perfectionism, left me with a lot of blind spots.”
She then addressed the fan conspiracy theory that she can’t read, which frequently resurfaces on Twitter and TikTok.
When asked about the it, Lea suggested she’d never be the subject of such a bizarre rumour if she were a man.
“I went to Glee every single day; I knew my lines every single day,” she told the Times. “And then there’s a rumour online that I can’t read or write? It’s sad. It really is. I think if I were a man, a lot of this wouldn’t be the case.”
There’s no evidence to support the theory that Lea can’t read, though some Glee fans delight in speculating about how the actress relies on her management team to make it appear that she can read.
Most of the people who joke about the theory online also acknowledge that there’s nothing to back it up, but continue to make memes on Twitter and TikTok.
But followers of the strange conspiracy theory quickly latched onto the fact that Lea didn’t technically deny that she’s illiterate.
“Sorry but the way Lea Michele won’t even give a straight answer to the yes or no question ‘can you read’ is sending me,” one joked.
Another tweeted: “I believe Lea Michele can read but I have to say it’s hilarious this is worded in a way that doesn’t actually confirm she can.”
But others are insisting the focus should be on the allegations of bullying and racism against Lea, not the joke theory that she can’t read.
Several Twitter users noted that the actress’ claims that her supposed bullying came from a place of “perfectionism” felt like “a cop-out”.
One responded: “Lea Michele saying she made enemies with the glee cast bcz she’s a perfectionist when I’m reality it’s bcz of racism and transphobia.”
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