The reviews are rolling in for former First Lady Michelle Obama’s new podcast as critics rip her low-energy format and weak viewership of a show that “nobody asked for.”
Obama’s first episode, released on Wednesday, features her older brother, Craig Robinson, and plenty of stories about leaning on one another while growing up on the South Side of Chicago. Sampling the stories of their “diverse and changing neighborhood” and guidance from late parents Marian Shields Robinson and father Fraser C. Robinson III, the hosts aim to be “counsel” for listeners facing their own family dilemmas.
Unfortunately, the number of those tuning in is dwindling by the hour.
After 15 hours on streaming platforms, the “imo” show’s first three episodes didn’t manage to clear 20,000 views on YouTube. The anemic audience level is a disastrous start for a former first lady who remains a beloved figure on the left and was rumored last year to be considering replacing former President Joe Biden on the ticket.
This couldn’t be any less entertaining,” wrote one critic in a string of negative takes about the latest episode. Another asked Obama if she planned to explain how the family chef mysteriously died off the coast of their Nantucket home.
Johnson reacted, “What an utter failure. Who thought this was a good idea.
Florida News reporter Eric Daugherty spotted that, by Wednesday evening, the number of dislikes for Obama’s episodes had surpassed the amount of likes, an ominous sign in their first few days.
The stunted show is the latest chapter in the will-she-or-won’t-she life of the former first lady, a once-transcendent figure whose signature “Let’s Move!” program sought to encourage healthier lunches and more physical activity for public school children. Since leaving the White House, she’s stayed largely silent on her husband’s successors even as Biden, her husband’s former vice president, lost control of his own campaign in its final days. She was dragged into participating in Biden’s 2020 campaign only after top national Democrats warned her about the stakes of a second Trump administration.
Michelle, no fan of politics, has largely focused her civic activities on a voter registration group called When We All Vote. She’s remained conspicuously absent from her husband’s travels and, during the transition, refused to attend Jimmy Carter’s funeral, where President Obama and President Donald Trump were seen smiling and talking cordially.
In the past year, Michelle has admitted she “couldn’t stand” her husband for a period of 10 years while their daughters were growing up. Neither has addressed persistent rumors that they are considering a divorce, fueling speculation about whether they will both move into a new $18 million Hawaii mansion they are on the cusp of enjoying.
