Over the past year, rumors have been swirling that Barack and Michelle Obama are heading for divorce. According to these rumors, Barack and Michelle have been living “separate lives” for quite some time.
Now, Michelle is speaking out to reveal the “one thing” that she “can’t do” as these divorce rumors continue to spread like wildfire.
Michelle ‘Can’t Do’ This ‘One Thing’
While appearing on the Baby, This is Keke Palmer podcast, Michelle was asked about Viola Davis’ controversial portrayal of her in Showtime’s miniseries The First Lady. The performance was widely panned and ridiculed by both fans and critics alike.
“I didn’t watch that,” Michelle, 62, said of the show. “That’s the one thing I can’t do.”
Michelle went on to say that she might eventually watch it, but not before speaking with Davis first.
“We can talk about that scene, and then I’ll watch it,” Michelle added.
Michelle was likely referring to the infamous viral scene that you can watch below.
Davis, who is an Oscar-winner, has previously been open about how difficult it was to handle the criticisms of her portrayal of Michelle. Indeed, she previously told The BBC that the negative feedback that she has gotten is an “occupational hazard” of being an actor.
“How do you move on from the hurt, from failure?” Davis said. “But you have to. Not everything is going to be an awards-worthy performance.”
Davis went on to slam critics, arguing that they “serve no purpose.” She also claimed that they took the “opportunity to be cruel.”
“But ultimately I feel like it is my job as a leader to make bold choices. Win or fail it is my duty to do that,” Davis concluded.
Obama Divorce Rumors
This comes at a difficult time for both Michelle and her husband Barack Obama, 64. The couple, who have been married since 1992, have been plagued by rampant divorce rumors for over a year.
These divorce rumors escalated in a big way back in January of last year, when Michelle skipped both the funeral of Jimmy Carter and the inauguration of Donald Trump. She was the only living former First Lady to miss each of these events. This forced Barack to attend both events alone.
“I have been hearing this rumor that the Obamas are getting a divorce by reputable people,” political commentator Meghan McCain said on reporter Tara Palmeri’s podcast in 2025. “I’m not talking about TMZ, I’m not talking about Perez Hilton, although I love him, he’s my friend.”
“I’m talking about like very serious journalists telling me that they’re hearing that the Obama divorce rumors are true,” she continued.
“We’ve heard that for a long time,” replied Tara, who has long covered Washington politics. “Like I just heard that they live separate lives.”
Listen to Meghan and Tara talk more about this in the clip below.
Michelle Accused Of ‘Really Disliking’ Barack
Michelle launched her IMO podcast back in March of last year. Since then, Michelle has used it to bash Barack and air his dirty laundry seemingly every chance she gets.
In fact, Michelle has complained about Barack so many times on her podcast that the former Fox News host Tucker Carlson has claimed that the former First Lady “really dislikes her husband, and it’s super obvious.”
“I’m not just saying that to be catty,” Tucker explained. “I think I’m trying to feel compassion for her but her hostility toward the guy is unbelievable.”
Tucker’s fellow former Fox News host Megyn Kelly was quick to agree. She pointed out that “everything Michelle says about her husband is negative.”
“I almost never say negative things about Doug,” Megyn added, referring to her own husband Doug Brunt. “He’s not perfect but when I think about him, I don’t immediately go to whatever is negative. I go to what’s positive and what I love about him.”
The Obamas Respond
Back in July of last year, Barack appeared on Michelle’s IMO podcast. There, they desperately tried to shoot down the escalating divorce rumors.
“There hasn’t been one moment in our marriage where I thought about quitting my man,” Michelle claimed. “And we’ve had some really hard times. So we had a lot of fun times, a lot of adventures, and I have become a better person because of the man I’m married to.”
“These are the kinds of things that I just miss, right?” Barack chimed in to add. “So I don’t even know this stuff’s going on. And then somebody will mention it to me and I’m all like, ‘what are you talking about?'”
Unfortunately for the Obamas, however, many are still not buying their claims that their marriage is still going strong.
Perhaps Michelle “can’t” watch Davis’ portrayal of her because she does not want to relive that part of her life with Barack. Only time will tell if the Obama marriage will survive.