The 'Funny Girl' star was the subject of a viral rumor that she is illiterate.
Lea Michele has a deadline! The 36-year-old Funny Girl star poked fun at a viral rumor that she doesn't know how to read in a new TikTok video.
The actress posted a photo of the news that Barbra Streisand -- one of Michele's idols who originated the role of Fanny Brice on Broadway -- is releasing a memoir this fall.
"265 days to learn to READ!!!!" Michele jokingly captioned the news, showing herself excitedly covering her mouth.
This isn't the first time Michele has mocked the bizarre rumor. Back in September, she posted a funny reaction to creating her TikTok account, writing, "Calling Jonathan [Groff] to read me the comments on my first TikTok."
The rumor started circulating in 2018 after a couple of podcasters shared the theory on Facebook. Michele refuted the claim in an interview with The New York Times while adding that the rumor itself is sexist.
"I went to Glee every single day; I knew my lines every single day," she said. "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."
After the rumor surfaced, Michele appeared on Watch What Happens Live With Andy Cohen, where a fan called into the show and asked her head-on about rumors that she's illiterate. Michele said she was baffled that someone would put together a 45-minute video conjuring up this conspiracy theory. She refuted the rumor by saying, among other things, that she got accepted into NYU and that even Glee creator Ryan Murphy called her after the rumors surfaced and asked her, "Do people think I have time in my life to do this?"
Back in September, ET spoke with Michele's Glee co-stars, Kevin McHale and Jenna Ushkowitz, about the rumor.
"It's not our story to tell, but we can set the record straight because it's insane!" Ushkowitz said, laughing off the rumor. "Now we're all in on the joke."
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