Talking to the Delightful Creators of the 'Lea Michele Can’t Read' Conspiracy

In 2017, podcasters Jaye Hunt and Robert Ackerman of “One More Thing” posted a Facebook Live video presenting a slideshow they’d made to elucidate a theory of their own creation: that Lea Michele, the star of Glee, can neither read nor write.

It’s a theory based in very little concrete evidence—just an anecdote ripped from Naya Rivera’s book, “Sorry Not Sorry,” that details how Michele refused to improvise scenes in Glee with veteran actor Tim Conway. Ackerman and Hunt took this tidbit to its most logical and fantastical conclusion, surmising that perhaps the reason Michele did not improvise is because she’s memorized her lines because Ryan Murphy has read them to her because, as stated prior, she can’t read.

Of course, Ackerman and Hunt don’t really believe Lea Michele can’t read—though the evidence they present during the podcast is compelling. It’s less about her supposed illiteracy—which she “proved” to be incorrect via this tweet—and more about exploring the theory that maybe Lea Michele didn’t learn how to read because she was too busy being a successful child star.

Either way—it’s funny. What more can we ask of life?

DirtCast can be found on Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, Spotify, Google Play, NPR Oneand iHeart Media.

Thanks to Jaye Hunt and Robert Ackerman. Our show is produced by Levi Sharpe. Mandana Mofidi is our Executive Director of Audio. Our theme music is by Stuart Wood. This episode was mixed by Jamie Collazzo.