Michelle Obama is speaking candidly about the intense public scrutiny she faced throughout her career — especially during her years as first lady from 2008 to 2016 — and how it shaped her relationship with self-image.
In a teaser released Tuesday, Jan. 20, for Wednesday, Jan. 21’s episode of Alex Cooper’s Call Her Daddy podcast, Cooper referenced a line Obama previously shared on her own IMO with Michelle Obama & Craig Robinson podcast in November 2025.
“You said, ‘It is the habit of the culture of the world to put women in their place by attacking their physical being,’” Cooper read.
Obama responded by recalling how much coverage during her time in the White House centered on her appearance instead of her work.
“The top of the article would be she was wearing — not my education, not my professional career — but it started with appearance,” Obama said. “It was clear that, oh, my God, you don’t know anything about what I did before I came here.”
Obama then pointed to her background, noting that she attended Princeton University for her undergraduate degree and later graduated from Harvard Law School.
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“I mean, I practiced law. I was an assistant to the mayor in Chicago. I ran a nonprofit,” she said. “That quickly, my shoes become the most important thing about me.”
She added that the experience underscored the need to be intentional about the messages women absorb and pass along.
“We have to think a lot more, to strike that balance and to be thoughtful about what messages we’re sending, giving, receiving,” Obama said.
Later in the teaser, Obama urged women in positions of influence to lead differently.
“When you get the power, when you’re the boss, when you’re running your own thing, let’s just not become female versions of the thing that was broken,” she said. “Are you building the world that you told your little girl existed?”
Cooper also referenced Obama’s past remarks on the idea of running for president: “You said, ‘Don’t even look at me about running because you all are lying. You’re not ready for a woman, you’re not.’”
Obama expanded on that point, saying, “There are men out there that were not gonna vote for a woman. Let’s just be real about it, and let’s put that on the table and talk about, well, what’s that about? Let’s not be mad because I made the statement.”
She closed with encouragement for the audience she hopes to inspire.
“I want to reach the young women,” Obama said, urging them to “keep climbing.”
“We need you and know that you may come up short,” she added, “but keep going.”
