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Can Lea Michele Read? The ‘Glee’ Alum Debunks Long Standing Theory By Reading on Podcast
The internet was set ablaze in 2016 when rumors circulated online that Lea Michele couldn’t read. Even the people that didn’t believe the rumor quickly started poking fun at the concept, and the joke never seemed to go away. In light of the never-ending rumor, Lea has addressed whether or not she can read.
Can Lea Michele Read?
While appearing on the May 8, 2025, episode of Jake Shane’s “Therapuss” podcast, Lea explained that she first learned of the rumor when her longtime collaborator Ryan Murphy called to ask her about the speculation.
“Ryan Murphy called me, and he was like, ‘Have you heard this rumor?’ And I was like, ‘No, what’s going on?’ And the fact that we’re here all these years later,” she said before she reached out to grab the several notecards that Jake was holding. “Give me the notes. I’m reading that. Jonathan [Groff] is not here to read this for me.”
Lea made the quip about Jonathan amid rumors that her longtime friend has helped her read in the past.
The Glee alum went on to read multiple notecards, proving that she can, in fact, read.
Lea Michele Reveals Her Thoughts About Rumors That She Can’t Read
“It really depends on the day,” Lea said when asked about if the rumors bother her. “Sometimes I think it’s crazy that people care enough about me that they would make up something. That someone has so little to do in their life and their day that they would waste it on me is hilarious to me.”
However, Lea did admit that there have been times she was “so frustrated” by the rumor.
“I’m one of the only women in my whole family to get accepted to college,” she said. “My mother and my mother’s whole family was extremely poor, from the Bronx, not very well educated and my parents moved me from the Bronx to New Jersey to get a good education and to thrive and I did. And my parents and my family are so proud of that.”
Lea continued, “It really was so important for my grandmother to see me, and for someone to minimize that, it’s so sad and so frustrating. But yeah, it’s wild.”
How Did the Rumor The Lea Michele Can’t Read Start?
The rumor that Lea can’t read started when her former Glee costar Naya Rivera claimed in her 2016 memoir, Sorry Not Sorry: Dreams, Mistakes, and Growing Up, that Lea refused to improvise on the show. While Naya did not state that Lea can’t read, the comment sparked speculation among fans.
Lea Michele Has Spoken Out About the Claim in the Past
The May 2025 podcast appearance is not the first time Lea has addressed the allegations that she can’t read.
“I went to Glee every single day; I knew my lines every single day,” she told The New York Times in September 2022. “And then there’s a rumor online that I can’t read or write? It’s sad. It really is. I think often if I were a man, a lot of this wouldn’t be the case.”
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