John Oliver brought back an old internet joke about Lea Michele while discussing a very different issue on Last Week Tonight. The HBO host was breaking down how online subscription services can make it difficult for customers to understand what they are signing up for. However, one of his examples quickly turned into a joke at the former Glee star’s expense.
Lea Michele became the punchline as John Oliver discussed deceptive online subscription buttons
Oliver’s main topic on the latest episode was subscription models and the ways companies can make their sign-up processes confusing. Among the tactics he discussed was the use of similar-looking buttons for different actions.
For example, Oliver pointed to Amazon Prime, noting that the company commonly uses a yellow button to confirm checkout. However, the same color is also used for the Prime sign-up option.
The British-American comedian and host of HBO’s Last Week Tonight said, “Yeah that’s pretty sneaky. And it is easy to see how someone could fall for that, particularly if they speak English as a second language, or are older and little less tech savvy, or they can’t read at all.”
As soon as he mentioned people who “can’t read at all,” a photo of Lea Michele appeared on screen. The unexpected visual got a good laugh from the audience, while Oliver quickly continued with his discussion.
The Lea Michele meme started long ago. It has been floating around the internet for years, and Michele is well aware of it. The gag started with people poking fun at her old social media habits, particularly her frequent use of emojis and the occasional misspelled word.
From there, the internet did what the internet does best: it took a small joke and ran with it. Soon, people were joking that Michele “couldn’t read,” and the gag became a recurring part of her pop culture image.
The joke got so popular that Michele has even been asked in interviews to read unfamiliar material on the spot. So, when Oliver suddenly put her image on screen after mentioning someone who “can’t read,” he was tapping into a joke many viewers already knew.
