
After seven years of the meme, Lea Michele just finally proved if she can read
‘Wait, what does that word say?’
Lea Michele has finally put to bed the conspiracy that she can’t read in a new podcast appearance, after the viral memes saying she can’t have dominated the internet since way back in 2018. The conspiracy got extra traction in 2022, and since then Lea Michele has been the recipient of a billion memes saying she can’t read – and worse still, she somehow accidentally always managed to feed into the saga and make it worse for herself. Considering she could have literally shown herself reading in a video and shut everyone up, Lea Michele let everyone think it for ages. Well, can she read or not? Rachel Berry herself gives her verdict.
Everyone say thank you to Jake Shane right now
In the latest episode of his very popular podcast Therapuss, Jake Shane asked the questions that mattered. Well he didn’t even have to ask, because Lea Michele brought it up herself. Lea Michele said “For everyone who thinks I can’t fucking read, I was on the debate team. I would write speeches.”
Teaser of Lea Michele proving she can read on Jake Shane’s ‘Therapuss’ podcast out tonight. pic.twitter.com/dZEYwevvTT
— Pop Crave (@PopCrave) May 7, 2025
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Jake asked Lea if she finds it hysterical or does it piss her off, to which she said “It depends on the day. It really depends on the day. 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 like, hilarious to me. But then there are moments where I get so frustrated by it because I’m one of the only women in my whole family to get accepted to college.
“My mother and my mother’s whole family were extremely poor, from the Bronx, like – not very well educated. My parents moved me from the Bronx to New Jersey to get a good education and to thrive. And I did. My family were so proud of that. It was so important for my grandmother to see me. For someone to minimise that, it’s so sad. And so frustrating.
“But yeah, it’s wild. I’ll never forget the same day that all that all came out Donald Trump said he was going to punch John McCain in the face. He said something so wild, but what was trending more was that Lea Michele can’t read. Ryan Murphy called me and said have you heard this rumour? And the fact we’re all here all these years later.”
Lea then says “Give me that, I’m reading that” to Jake’s cue card. She reads (!): “I placed first in my debate completion and qualified for nationals” before joking and saying “what does this word say?” At least, we think she’s joking.
Lea then carries on joking saying “The theories are going to say Jake called her in advance, this doesn’t prove anything. She memorised it. She saw the cards in advance, this proves nothing”.
Well, she said it first. Maybe it doesn’t prove anything. Sealed your own fate there, Lea!
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