Lindsay Lohan says April Fools video saying she had been invited to speak at Harvard was a 'joke'

Lindsay Lohan has said her video claiming Harvard University had invited her to speak was a joke.

The 31-year-old actor sparked confusion after she shared videos on April Fools Day claiming the prestigious university had asked her to speak at their graduation commencement ceremony.

Some news publications claimed Lohan had been duped by an April Fools prank but others said it was the former child star herself who was tricking fans when she posted videos to her Twitter and Instagram Story.

"Harvard Law has asked me to speak at their graduation commencement ceremony,” she says in the video. “And I'm really, really honoured and I couldn't be happier. My work with Lawyer.com has finally paid off. Who needs Hollywood when you have - Harvard Law!"

Lindsay then goes on to post photos of what appears to be letters or emails addressed from Cambridge and Oxford also requesting her to be a guest speaker.

“Ya it was a joke lol,” a spokesperson for Lohan told The Independent.

“Oxford Union and Cambridge have invited her to speak though.”

Oxford Union, a debating society in the city of Oxford which is not affiliated with Oxford University but who primary draws its membership from it, refused to comment on the matter to The Independent.

Cambridge University did not immediately respond to request for comment.

Harvard University told Jezebel "there is no factual basis for that claim”.

The letters the actor, who rose to prominence for her roles in The Parent Trap and Mean Girls, posted on her Instagram story included a number of typos.

It goes without saying that going to the trouble of displaying a classic maroon Harvard hoodie in the video and printing letters is a rather elaborate April Fools Day joke.

The furore comes after Lohan recently announced she was the spokesperson for Lawyer.com despite having a lengthy history of getting into scrapes with the law.

Lohan, who has been arrested a number of times for driving under the influence as well as theft from a Venice jewellery store, spent eight years on probation starting in 2007. She was also sentenced to 90 days in prison in 2010 and has been in and out of rehab.

The actor was sentenced to rehab numerous times for missing counselling sessions or failing to perform court-ordered community service.

At the end of March - just two years after Lindsay Lohan got off probation for the first time in eight years - the actor announced she was the new spokesperson for Lawyer.com.

“When Lawyer.com first reached out to me, I was confused and a little scared, because I thought I was in trouble,” the actor said in one of several videos produced by the company. “But when they asked me to be their spokesperson, I was intrigued.”

According to an announcement on their website, the actor will be the firm’s marketing and brand adviser for 12 months.

In the video, Lohan also pokes fun at her past legal troubles, saying, "Lawyer.com is about protecting people. From getting a DUI - let's not pretend like I didn't get one … or two or three or some others."