If you’re a fan of talk shows where famous people talk to other famous people so that the second famous person can promote their latest whatever, then you might have noticed an odd trend: First Lady Michelle Obama has been making the rounds lately: first on Ellen, then Jay Leno, and now Jimmy Fallon, all in an effort to raise awareness for the Let’s Move! health initiative. Or is it?
Michelle Obama gets a visit from Jimmy Fallon last night:
Mrs. Obama on The Tonight Show last week, talking about her husband’s singing and nutrition:
Michelle Obama challenging Ellen to a push-up contest:
Now, these three clips all have one thing in common, and it’s not just that all three shows appear on NBC, which is the conspiracy theory put forward by Nikki Finke. Two of those segments featured the First Lady going head-to-head with the host in some kind of physical endurance challenge, while the Leno clip had some doctored footage of Mrs. Obama getting into fistacuffs with Al Roker.
While one could claim this is all part of the Let’s Move! Initiative, it also shows that Mrs. Obama has a sense of humor about herself. After all, it wasn’t so long ago that she was being called an angry black woman and every major network was speculating on her strong-arming tactics with White House policy advisers.
This the call-out to any anchor, writer, or media commenter who wants to take on Michelle “The Rock” Obama. She’ll make you gasp for air before she even breaks out a sweat. She’s not going to meekly hide behind a nutrition campaign because her physical strength is associated with some negative stereotypes. The message is clear: Don’t mess with the First Lady.
