Lea Michele jokes she has ‘265 days to learn to read’
Theories that Lea Michele can’t read have been circulating online for years (Getty)
Former Glee star Lea Michele has revealed that she only had 265 days to learn to read.
The long-running joke that Michele is unable to read has taken its most bizarre turn yet, with the actress herself joining in on the internet-meme-turned-pop-culture-staple to say that she’s given herself a specific date to reach Hungry Caterpillar comprehension levels.
According to a TikTok posted to Michele’s account that has already been viewed 3.1 million times and garnered more than half-a-million likes, the reason for the date is that (at the time of being posted) it was only 265 days away from the release of Barbra Streisand’s memoirs.
In the TikTok, we see Michele looking incredibly excited, superimposed over the book announcement with the caption: “265 days to learn to READ!!!!”
Anyone familiar with Michele, or her Glee character, Rachel Berry, will know that the two (depending on whether or not you think they’re separate people) have a deep obsession with Streisand.
Streisand starred as Fanny Brice in the critically acclaimed Funny Girl (1968), winning the Oscar for best actress. Michele is currently starring as Fanny in the Broadway revival of the show.
Fans on TikTok have taken to writing comments, then translating them to emojis for ease of access for Michele.
“You’re funny (🫵🙎🏽♀️😂),” one wrote.
Another added: “👧🏻🫵🏻🍽️ (Girl you ate!)”
A third commented: “Good luck girl (👍👧🏻🍀).”
Aside from learning to read, Michele has found herself at the centre of various controversies, not least accusations from fellow Glee cast members concerning her behaviour towards them.
“I think these past two years have been so important for everybody to just sit back and reflect,” Michele said. “I did a lot of personal reach outs. But the most important thing was for everybody to just take a step back.”
