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Emma Roberts Pokes Fun at Rumor Lea Michele Can't Read: 'Never Been in a Book Club Together'

Emma Roberts and Lea Michele kick off the Holiday Season with Kohl’s at their "New Gifts At Every Turn" pop-up on November 06, 2019 in New York City.
Emma Roberts and Lea Michele kick off the Holiday Season with Kohl’s at their "New Gifts At Every Turn" pop-up on November 06, 2019 in New York City.

Jennifer Graylock/Getty Emma Roberts and Lea Michele in 2019

Emma Roberts is poking fun at an online conspiracy theory that her friend Lea Michele cannot read.

While on Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen this week, Roberts, 31, answered a fan question about seeing Michele, 36, in Broadway's Funny Girl and what the biggest misconception is about her.

"I saw her in Funny Girl and I was crying at the end. Like, I literally— And she looked at me. I said to my friend, 'I think she saw me!' And my friend was like, 'Emma, she didn't see you. Shut up.' Then I go backstage and she's like, 'I saw you!' And I was like, 'I knew! I knew that we connected.' "

Roberts added of her Scream Queens costar, "I'm just so happy for her. She's so down to earth and so talented, and she just deserves everything she's getting with all the Funny Girl praise. I couldn't be happier."

RELATED: Hilary Duff and Molly Bernard Rave After Seeing Lea Michele in Funny Girl: 'It Was Made for You'

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Host Cohen, 54, then followed up with the "biggest misconception" component of the question, guessing that it's "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, the other guest on the talk show, then joked, "Why is reading so important, goddamnit? Let her not read if that's what she wants."

On Oct. 22, Michele shared a photo on Instagram of herself with Roberts on the Broadway stage between shows and wrote in the caption, "The smiles say it all. I love you so much @emmaroberts Thank you for being the greatest friend a girl could ask for." Roberts commented, "Love you!"

RELATED VIDEO: Lea Michele Says Online Rumors She Can't Read or Write 'Wouldn't Be the Case' If 'I Were a Man'

Michele reacted to the online speculation that she can't read during an interview with The New York Times last year. (Several viral TikToks and social media threads in recent years pushed a conspiracy theory that Michele 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. I think often if I were a man, a lot of this wouldn't be the case," said Michele at the time.

Michele 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!!! ?."