Emma Roberts jokingly responds to rumour Lea Michele cannot read

Internet conspiracy theory alleges Broadway star cannot read or write

Emma Roberts has jokingly responded to the internet rumour that Lea Michele cannot read.

Roberts, 31, discussed her Scream Queens co-star during an appearance on Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen, after a fan asked her about Michele’s performance in Funny Girl on Broadway, and what she believes to be the “biggest misconception” about the Glee star.

In response to the question, Roberts recounted a story about making eye contact with Michele when she went to see her on Broadway.

“I saw her in Funny Girl and I was crying at the end. Like, I literally … And she looked at me. I said to my friend: ‘I think she saw me!’” Roberts recalled. “And my friend was like: ‘Emma, she didn’t see you. Shut up.’ Then I go backstage and she’s like: ‘I saw you!’ And I was like: ‘I knew! I knew that we connected.’”

Roberts then praised Michele’s talent, before expressing her happiness for her friend’s success. “I’m just so happy for her. She’s so down to earth and so talented, and she just deserves everything she’s getting with all the Funny Girl praise. I couldn’t be happier,” she said.

Host Andy Cohen then drew attention back to the second part of the fan question, as he pointed out that the “biggest misconception is that she can’t read”.

The remark prompted laughter from Roberts, who proceeded to joke about the online conspiracy theory. “I mean, we’ve not been in a book club together, but…no,” she said to laughter from both Cohen and the audience.

The exchange prompted a response from fellow guest Julie Bowen, who proceeded to ask: “Why is reading so important, goddamnit? Let her not read if that’s what she wants.”

Michele previously addressed the “sad” rumour that she is illiterate during an interview with The New York Times, where she pointed out that she “knew [her] lines every single day” during her time on Glee.

“I went to Glee every single day; I knew my lines every single day,” she told the newspaper. “And then there’s a rumour online that I can’t read or write? It’s sad. It really is.”

At the time, Michele also claimed that the rumour would not exist if she were a man, with the actress adding: “I think often if I were a man, a lot of this wouldn’t be the case.”

The rumour began in 2017, when the One More Thing podcast suggested Michele couldn’t read or write because her childhood was spent performing rather than learning.

The Glee star jokingly shut down the conspiracy theory in 2018, when she responded to a tweet about the rumour. “Loved READING this tweet and wanted to WRITE you back. Literally laughing out loud at all this love you!!!” she wrote.