Is Lea Michele illiterate? Theory debunked as Funny Girl star reads children's book in new video 

Lea Michele is putting an end to rumors about her being illiterate after she appeared in SAG-AFTRA Foundation’s Storyline Online series on August 8, 2022. In the video, the Broadway star was seen reading the children’s book Rosie Revere, Engineer - written by Andrea Beaty and illustrated by David Roberts.

Speculation of the actress’ inability to read and write appeared online in recent months after she addressed the crowd at a June event in Napa valley and reportedly made light of the rumors when she jokingly said, "I didn’t go to college you guys, and look at me."

With the latest video, she is proving conspiracy theorists wrong, yet again.

In the video, after reading the book, the Funny Girl actress encouraged kids to “dream big and never give up.” She said:

“What I love most about this book is its message that as long as you try, you will never fail. Rosie is so creative and she teaches us to dream big and to never to give up. Thank you so much for watching Storyline Online. Make sure to check out all of our stories.”

With the Storyline Online video, the Glee alum has joined the likes of celebrities such as Kristen Bell, Oprah Winfrey and Kevin Costner, who have all previously taken part in the YouTube series.

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How did rumors of Lea Michele being illiterate surface on the internet?

The bizarre theory of the 35-year-old actress being unable to read started way back in 2018, after a 40-minute video titled, Lea Michele Is Illiterate appeared online.

The video was created by Jaye Hunt and Robert Ackerman for their podcast One More Thing. The duo formed the theory as a joke after Michele’s former co-star Naya Rivera speculated about the same in her memoir.

Although the video is no longer available online, one theory on TikTok suggested that according to the old video, Michele spent most of her childhood onstage while performing for Broadway’s Les Misérables and therefore did not get the time to learn how to read and write.

Another theory online claimed that Michele appeared online in Ryan Murphy’s productions because the latter promised to feed her lines while on set to make it easier for her to remember.

Yet another claim stated that the Scream Queens actress’ social media accounts are in reality run by her team. This theory surfaced after many noticed that most of her social media posts are primarily flooded with emojis.

Netizens have also called out the singer-actor for never autographing her book Brunette Ambition. Some found that the actress’ pen never touched the books even during autographing sessions. Others also noted that the book was mostly filled with pictures rather than actual writing.

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Lea Michele responds to “illiterate” claims

During a Napa concert in June, 2022, Michele had addressed the rumors while interacting with the crowd. The Emmy-nominee said:

“You don't have to go to college to be in theater. I didn’t go to college you guys, and look at me… There is a rumor online that I cannot read or write, which may have something to do with the fact I didn't go to college.”

In 2018, Lea Michele also took to Twitter to laugh off the conspiracy theory when it first surfaced. While responding to a tweet, the New York-native wrote:

“Loved READING this tweet and wanted to WRITE you back. Literally laughing out loud at all this. Love you!!”

Actress debunks "illiterate" claims in tweet (Image via Twitter)

The tweet no longer exists given that the actress deleted her account on the platform.

Although claims of Lea Michele's inability to read and write have taken over social media platforms, it seems like she has attempted to debunk them time and time again.