Keke Palmer Weighs In On Viral Conspiracy Theory That Lea Michele Can't Read

Michele's former "Scream Queens" co-star seemingly heard about the long-running rumor for the first time on a Tuesday podcast episode.

Actor Keke Palmer has apparently just learned about the long-running conspiracy theory that her former “Scream Queens” co-star Lea Michele can’t read. After hearing about the rumor’s spread on Tuesday’s episode of “The Toast,” Palmer reacted with shock.

“Damn, that’s crazy,” she bluntly stated on the podcast. “Why do people do this stuff?”

The theory first emerged in 2017 when “One More Thing” podcast hosts Jaye Hunt and Robert Ackerman discussed the memoir of actor Naya Rivera, who wrote that Michele seemed unwilling to improvise lines on the TV show “Glee.” Hunt and Ackerman joked that this may have been due to illiteracy, with the idea’s spread aided by footage of Michele supposedly struggling to read off names at award shows, among other things.

“The Toast” host Claudia Oshry told Palmer that some people believe Ryan Murphy, one of the creators of “Scream Queens” and “Glee,” has repeatedly hired Michele “because he knows her secret,” and that he would read Michele’s lines to her so she could memorize them.

When asked if she’d ever seen Michele read a book on set, Palmer hinted that she hadn’t — but noted that the same could be said of herself.