On TikTok, Lea Michele addressed viral online rumors in a very funny way.
With already over 2 million views in a matter of hours, the former "Glee" star posted a five-second video poking fun at talk that she can't read on Sunday, Sept. 18.
Michele is seen making a fake phone call as a voiceover of Kim Kardashian plays in the background, where the reality star is making a call saying, "Hey." A voice responds, "Hi, how is it?" to which she responds tearfully, "It's amazing. Can you talk for a sec?"
The line "Calling Jonathan to read me the comments on my first TikTok" is pasted atop of the video, likely referencing fellow actor Jonathan Groff after a tweet referencing the two circulated the internet. The 36-year-old captioned the clip, "lol" with the winking face, crazy face and relieved face emojis.
On Saturday, the star of "Funny Girl" on Broadway posted her first TikTok video where she uses the duet feature to jokingly mimic user @javirod305 doing a representation of Michele on opening night.
Within a day, the clip had nearly 4 million views with Michele hitting 162,000 followers on the video-sharing platform.
Rumors of Michele's illiteracy appeared to have begun in 2018 when Jaye Hunt and Robert Ackerman said on their podcast, "One More Thing" that when she began her career at age 9 in “Les Misérables,” she never needed to learn how to read or write because she memorized her lines through hearing.
The two then referenced social media posts in which Michele's captions only included emojis as opposed to any written text. The claim caused Twitter and other social media platforms to erupt with theories and responses.
The performer addressed the rumor in 2018, tweeting, “Loved READING this tweet and wanted to WRITE you back. literally laughing out loud at all this. love you!!!”
Though banter continued over the years, her new role as Fanny Brice in Broadway's "Funny Girl" caused rumors to once again come to a head. In an interview with the New York Times published Sept. 1, Michele said the social media chatter as sexist and "sad."
“I went to ‘Glee’ every single day; I knew my lines every single day,” she told the newspaper. “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.”
After receiving multiple standing ovations on her opening night Sept. 6, Michele is temporarily out of "Funny Girl" due to a positive COVID-19 test. However, she is set to return to the stage this week.
