For years, there’s been a “rumor” that Lea Michele cannot read. It became more than a rumor, it was more like a full-blown conspiracy involving Jonathan Groff helping her learn her lines and reading all of her scripts. At some point, someone told Lea about the conspiracy – because she apparently didn’t READ it on social media – and she’s addressed the rumor in a few interviews. Those interviews made it worse though – at no point has Lea said “of course I can read, let me read this aloud in front of you.” Instead, she’s said purposefully vague things like “I learn my lines” (as opposed to reading her lines) and “Barbra Streisand sent me a note but I can’t tell you what’s in it.” Well, finally, years later, Lea has gone on camera and read something aloud to prove that she can read.

Lea Michele is tired of people raining on her parade with false rumors. The 38-year-old stage and screen star has been the subject of a longstanding conspiracy theory that she doesn’t know how to read and, in fact, got people on sets with her to read her the lines, which she memorized. The rumor was a trending topic on Twitter back in 2015 and has followed Michele in the years since. On the Thursday, May 8 episode of the Therapuss with Jake Shane podcast, Michele set the record straight for good.

The Glee star recalled first learning about the rumor from her longtime collaborator Ryan Murphy, whom she says called her to ask her about the claims.

“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 jumping up in her chair and reaching out for several notecards Shane was holding. “Give me the notes. I’m reading that. Jonathan [Groff] is not here to read this for me.”

Michele then read out the fan-submitted question, jokingly breaking to ask, “What does this word say?” She read multiple notecards, looking at the camera afterwards in defiance. Shane asked the Broadway starlet if the rumor bothered her or if she found it humorous.

“It really depends on the day,” Michele admitted. “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.”

However, Michele added that there are other times when she gets “so frustrated” by the claim.

“I’m one of the only women in my whole family to get accepted to college,” she explained. “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.”

[From People]

Real talk, I can understand how she would be offended that this rumor has such staying power and yes, it is insulting. But I hope she also admits that she’s made it worse! She’s been, like, purposefully cryptic about her literacy. The rumor started because of various videos of Lea where she just refused to read things aloud, and her constant mentions of inviting Groff over so that HE could read something.

Screengrabs from the Therapuss YT video.