Keke Palmer Weighs in on Viral Internet Conspiracy That Scream Queens Costar Lea Michele Can’t Read: ‘She’s Got To’

Keke Palmer is sharing her two cents on Lea Michele and her literacy.

During the Nov. 19 episode of The Toast podcast, the actress, 31, addressed a viral internet conspiracy involving her former Scream Queens costar and her alleged inability to read.

“I know that she can read, y’all,” Palmer said. “I ain’t never seen her reading but I know that she can read. She’s got to.”

While she claimed she’s never seen Michele, 38, read a book on set, she laughed, “Damn, that’s crazy why do people do this stuff. I mean don’t nobody see me reading a book on set. Y’all know that girl can read.”

“Honestly, y’all if she can’t read, so what? S—, some people can’t read. [If] she can’t read, momma can’t read,” Palmer said, adding that she was “here” for those who were illiterate.

Michele, who took on the role of Hester Ulrich in the Ryan Murphy comedy, has previously addressed online rumors that she can’t read or write. Over the years, several viral TikToks and social media threads have pushed a conspiracy theory that Michele had 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,” she told The New York Times in 2022. “I think often if I were a man, a lot of this wouldn’t be the case.”

Michele also 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!!!”

Palmer isn’t the first of Michele’s costars to weigh in on the conspiracy.

During an appearance on Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen in January 2023, Emma Roberts opened up about seeing Michele in Broadway’s Funny Girl and her biggest misconception is about her.

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When host Andy Cohen guessed that the misconception was “that she can’t read,” Roberts responded with a laugh: “I mean, we have not been in a book club together, but…. No.”

Modern Family alum Julie Bowen, who appeared alongside her joked, “Why is reading so important, goddamnit? Let her not read if that’s what she wants.”