Lea Michele shuts down rumour she can't read

Lea Michele has shut down speculation that she is illiterate.

The bizarre conspiracy theory originated in 2018 when Jaye Hunt and Robert Ackerman made a 40-minute video for their podcast One More Thing claiming Michele couldn't read and the theory was resurrected on TikTok earlier this year.

During an interview with The New York Times published on Thursday, the 36-year-old responded to the speculation.

"I went to Glee every single day; I knew my lines every single day," she said. "And then, there's a rumour 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."

Michele previously poked fun at the rumour in June when she spoke to students during a Broadway and Vine event in California.

"I didn't go to college you guys, and look at me... There is a rumour online that I cannot read or write, which may have something to do with the fact I didn't go to college," she joked, reports Page Six.

The Glee star is gearing up to replace Beanie Feldstein and Julie Benko in the lead role of Fanny Brice in the Broadway musical Funny Girl on Tuesday.

In the interview, Michele acknowledged that she "will never be as good as Barbra Streisand", the original Fanny Brice, and insisted that she doesn't care about being ineligible for a Tony Award as she didn't originate the character in this revival.

"You might think that's the biggest piece of bull that I'm going to say to you all day, but I really don't care about that at this point. It's just about being able to play this part," she stated.