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Ariana Baio
Jul 12, 2022
Lea Michele replacing Beanie Feldstein in Broadway revival of Funny Girl
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Online trolls have taken to the conspiracy theory that actress and singer Lea Michele cannot read once again as the Broadway show Funny Girl announces Michele has been cast as Fanny Brice.
Back in 2018, a conspiracy theory emerged that the Glee actress apparently could not read or write from the pop culture podcast One More Thing.
Their evidence pointed towards a series of strange quotes about her from the autobiography of Naya Rivera, Michele's co-star on Glee. Some of the quotes said Michele only being able to memorize lines by hearing them and that she couldn't read the music on Glee, a show which is heavily focused on music and signing.
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They went into some pretty wild details about why they believe Michele, 35, can't read, including her social media posts, which contain a lot of emojis and are apparently written by her assistant.
\u201cus preparing for the onslaught of DMs asking about the video now that lea is relevant again\u201d— One More Thing (@One More Thing) 1657559090
Obviously the theory is not true, and Michele has clarified that she can read and write.
Luckily, the actress has a good sense of humor and finds the ridiculous theory funny. During a Broadway and Vine event in Napa, California Michele gave advice to high schools theatre students saying they do not need to go to college to be successful.
“I didn’t go to college you guys, and look at me," Michele said earlier this month. "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.”
\u201clea michele forcing jonathan groff to read her funny girl lines to her rn\u201d— rio (@rio) 1657560207
\u201cCongratulations to Leah Michele! Just a reminder, our bidets are so easy to install, you don't even need to read the instructions.\u201d— TUSHY Bidet (@TUSHY Bidet) 1657564367
But the lack of truth behind it has not stopped people from resurfacing the joke to troll Michele following the announcement that Michele will replace Beanie Feldstein - a polarizing topic for theatre-lovers.
@jocelyn.in.ur.ear This is one of my favorite things that I choose to believe in #leamichele #leamicheleisilliterate #leamichelecantread #leamicheleismyworstenemy #rachelberry #glee #gleecast #gleek #ryanmurphy
"Lea michele made a deal with the devil so she could be in funny girl on broadway… she’s like ariel but instead of trading her voice she traded the ability to read," Freya wrote on Twitter.
"I’m so sorry but the lea michele can’t read jokes are so funny and i will laugh at every single one," a Twitter user wrote.
\u201cLea Michele would be so excited if she could read this\u201d— Jack Sturm (@Jack Sturm) 1657505621
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