Entertainment Books Lea Michele Jokes She Has '265 Days to Learn to Read' Before Release of Barbra Streisand Memoir The Funny Girl star has been the subject of a social media conspiracy theory that she can't read By Alexis Jones Alexis Jones Alexis Jones is a writer-reporter at PEOPLE. She has been working at PEOPLE since 2022. Her work has previously appeared on Daily Bruin. People Editorial Guidelines Published on February 8, 2023 09:20PM EST Photo: Kevin Mazur/Getty; Taylor Hill/Getty Lea Michele is getting in on the joke. The Broadway star poked fun at the conspiracy theory that she can't read by posting a TikTok video Wednesday, in which she wrote she has "265 days to learn to read" before the release of Barbra Streisand's memoir this fall. In the video, Michele, 36, reacted to an Instagram post about the book news, placing her hand over her mouth and smiling in excitement. She simply captioned the post with various book emojis and the nerd face emoji. As part of the joke, several users commented on Michele's post with emojis to communicate. In September of last year, the Golden Globe nominee joined the Broadway revival of Funny Girl, stepping into the role of Fanny Brice, originated by Streisand when the show first opened in 1964. Emma Roberts Pokes Fun at Rumor Lea Michele Can't Read: 'Never Been in a Book Club Together' In her second TikTok video, shared in September following her return to Broadway, Michele once again addressed the illiteracy conspiracy. Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE's free weekly newsletter to get the biggest news of the week delivered to your inbox every Friday. The video, in which Michele can be seen pretending to talk into a cell phone, is accompanied by text that read: "Calling Jonathan to read me the comments on my first TikTok," a reference to her longtime collaborator and best friend, Jonathan Groff. RELATED VIDEO: Lea Michele Says Online Rumors She Can't Read or Write 'Wouldn't Be the Case' If 'I Were a Man' Lea Michele's Glee Costar Kevin McHale Proposes How She Can Keep 'Leaning Into' Theories She Can't Read Michele reacted to the online speculation that she can't read during an interview with The New York Times last year. (Several viral TikToks and social media threads in recent years pushed a conspiracy theory that Michele never learned to read, with people claiming to show "evidence.") "I went to Glee every single day; I knew my lines every single day. And then there's a rumor online that I can't read or write? It's sad. It really is. I think often if I were a man, a lot of this wouldn't be the case," said Michele at the time. Michele previously joked about the rumors when they bubbled up back in March 2018. She set the record straight with a sense of humor, tweeting to a fan who said she must be "laughing her head off right now" about it: "Loved READING this tweet and wanted to WRITE you back? literally laughing out loud at all this. Love you!!" Close