Lea Michele Finally Sets The Record Straight On Rumors She Can’t Read

Lea Michele is finally addressing the bizarre rumors that she can't read.

The Glee alum appeared on the May 8 episode of the Therapuss podcast where she debunked claims that she is illiterate and has people reading lines to her on set for her to memorize. According to People, the rumor began trending on X (formerly Twitter) in 2015 and has lingered throughout the years.

Speaking to host Jake Shane, Michele said she first learned about the now-longstanding conspiracy theory from Glee creator and Michele's frequent collaborator Ryan Murphy.

"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 hilariously snatching some notecards from Shane to read, noting that friend Jonathan Groff wasn't there to read the cards for her. "Give me [the notes], I'm reading them! I didn't memorize it! Jonathan is not here to read me this s---."

Of course, she couldn't help but poke fun at the claims, joking, "what does this word say?" before reading information from the cards to shut down the theory once and for all.

"For everyone who think that I can't f---ing read, I was on the debate team," she said. "I would write speeches."

Despite the light-hearted tone, the Scream Queens actress explained why she is often "frustrated" with the rumors.

"It really depends on the day," she said. "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."

She continued, "I'm one of the only women in my whole family to get accepted to college. 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. 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."