American actress and singer Lea Michele says that she believes much of the recent online nastiness and trolling against her is sexist, and precisely dissolves the freaky rumor that she can’t read or write as “sad.”
Taking over the role of Fanny Brice in Broadway’s Funny Girl which is starting on 6th September, Lea Michele spoke to The New York Times. In the interview at one point in time, the New Year’s Eve actress specified online rumors that she can’t read or write.
In recent years, many viral TikToks and social media threads in rumors pushed a conspiracy theory that Michele never learned to read, with people claiming to show “evidence.”
Michele said: “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.”
Previously, Lea Michele made fun of the rumors when they came up back in March 2018. With a sense of humor she set the record straight, 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!!! ? ❤️.”
Further, Michele discussed her returning to the limelight following her controversy in 2020 in her interview with Times. At that time the former Glee costar Samantha Marie Ware was accused of her tormenting her on the set with “traumatic microaggressions.“
During that time Michele apologized stating, “I clearly acted in ways which hurt other people.”
According to Times, the actress did not comment on any particulars of Ware’s allegations, saying she doesn’t “feel the need to handle things” as per media.
Additionally, Lea Michele said that she went through an “intense time of reflection” and at present feels “more ready than I ever have before, both personally and professionally” for her return to the stage.
Sometimes, the ‘perfectionist’ work style of her could cause her not to realize how she affected others: “I have an edge to me. I work really hard. I leave no room for mistakes. That level of perfectionism, or that pressure of perfectionism, left me with a lot of blindspots.”
“I really understand the importance and value now of being a leader. It means not only going and doing a good job when the camera’s rolling, but also when it’s not,” explained Michele. “And that wasn’t always the most important thing for me.” [H/T PEOPLE]
