Latest news with #CraigRobinson
Fox News
3 hours ago
- General
- Fox News
Michelle Obama facing backlash over claim about women's reproductive health
Former First Lady Michelle Obama is facing backlash after saying that creating life is "the least" of what a woman's reproductive system does. On the latest episode of the podcast "IMO with Michelle Obama & Craig Robinson," the former first lady and her brother were joined by OB/GYN Dr. Sharon Malone, whose husband, Eric Holder, served as Attorney General under former President Barack Obama. During the discussion, the former first lady lamented that women's reproductive health "has been reduced to the question of choice." "I attempted to make the argument on the campaign trail this past election was that there's just so much more at stake and because so many men have no idea about what women go through," Obama said. She went on to claim that the lack of research on women's health shapes male leaders' perceptions of the issue of abortion. "Women's reproductive health is about our life. It's about this whole complicated reproductive system that the least of what it does is produce life," Obama added, "It's a very important thing that it does, but you only produce life if the machine that's producing it — if you want to whittle us down to a machine — is functioning in a healthy, streamlined kind of way." In the same episode, the former first lady seemed to scold Republican men by saying that the men who "sit on their hands" over abortion are choosing to "trade out women's health for a tax break or whatever it is." Obama also criticized Republican women, suggesting they voted for President Donald Trump because of their husbands. "There are a lot of men who have big chairs at their tables, there are a lot of women who vote the way their man is going to vote, it happened in this election." The "Becoming" author's remarks drew criticism from pro-life activists, including Danielle D'Souza Gill, the wife of Rep. Brandon Gill, R-Texas. The couple announced the birth of their second child earlier in May. "Motherhood is the most beautiful and powerful gift God gave women. Creating life isn't a side effect, it's a miracle. Don't let the Left cheapen it," D'Souza Gill wrote in a post on X. Isabel Brown, a content creator and author, also slammed the former first lady as a "supposed feminist icon." "I am SO sick [and] tired of celebrities [and] elitists attempting to convince you that your miraculous superpower ability to GROW LIFE from nothing is somehow demeaning [and] 'lesser than' for women," Brown wrote. At the time of this writing, Obama's podcast is ranked 51 on Apple Podcasts and doesn't appear on the list of the top 100 podcasts on Spotify. However, it is ranked 91 on the list of 100 trending podcasts on Spotify. The entire episode with Malone is available on YouTube, where it currently has just under 41,150 views so far.
Newsweek
3 days ago
- Health
- Newsweek
Michelle Obama Walks Back on Podcast Remark—'We Don't Have to Keep That In'
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. Michelle Obama appeared to walk back on a comment she made during the latest episode of her podcast, IMO with Michelle Obama & Craig Robinson. Newsweek reached out to Obama's representative via email for comment. The Context Obama and her older brother, Craig Robinson, announced IMO with Michelle Obama & Craig Robinson in March. In their Instagram announcement, the siblings said they "don't have all the answers. But there will be a lot of opinions. A lot of learning. And plenty of laughs. Because we all need some moments of light right now." The Becoming author, 61, wed former president Barack Obama, 63, in 1992, and they have two children together: daughters Malia Obama, 26, and Sasha Obama, 23. What To Know On Wednesday's episode of IMO, Michelle Obama and Robinson spoke with their friend and OB/GYN Dr. Sharon Malone about women's healthcare in the United States. "There is some anecdotal data that says older sperm, more autism," Malone said. "So we should tell some people, maybe it's the old sperm, maybe it's not the vaccine that's causing the autism, you know? Why don't you look at that?" According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), "studies have shown that there is no link between receiving vaccines and developing autism spectrum disorder." However, there are still many vaccines skeptics in the United States, and the recent rise in measles cases—which was once considered eradicated in the U.S.—has been linked to anti-vaccine sentiment. "They'll never let that secret out. That may be the key behind all the defunding everything," Michelle Obama said. "Then old men can keep marrying 20-year-olds. It's like, 'I'll give you the baby you want.'" The former first lady then turned to her podcast crew and said: "We don't have to keep that in." Michelle Obama speaks onstage during the "IMO Live" podcast at the SXSW Conference and Festival at the Austin Convention Center on March 13, 2025 in Austin, Texas. Michelle Obama speaks onstage during the "IMO Live" podcast at the SXSW Conference and Festival at the Austin Convention Center on March 13, 2025 in Austin, Obama shared that the "frustrating thing" about protecting women's reproductive health is that "it has been reduced to a question of choice, as if that's all of what women's health is." In the November 2024 election, Republican president Donald Trump was victorious over his Democratic rival, former vice president Kamala Harris. Ahead of the election, Michelle Obama supported Harris. "I attempted to make the argument on the campaign trail this past election that there's just so much more at stake because so many men have no idea what women go through," the attorney said. "We haven't been researched, we haven't been considered, and it still affects the way a lot of men lawmakers, a lot of male politicians, a lot of male religious leaders think about the issue of choice, as if it's just about the fetus, the baby." Michelle Obama explained: "Women's reproductive health is about our life. It's about this whole complicated reproductive system that the least of what it does is produce life. It's a very important thing that it does, but you only produce life if the machine that's producing it—if you want to whittle us down to a machine—if the machine is functioning in a healthy, streamlined kind of way. But there is no discussion or apparent connection between the two." Malone added that "one of the things that is disturbing" is that the "government has gotten involved in decisions that are personal and healthcare decisions. It's not just about whether someone chooses to have a pregnancy or not, but this is a situation where a woman should have control over her body—when and if to have a baby, and to decide how that pregnancy should continue." Trump was inaugurated in January, and in his first 100 days in office, the 78-year-old made several moves surrounding reproductive health including pardoning anti-abortion protesters and announcing mass layoffs at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. What People Are Saying IMO with Michelle Obama & Craig Robinson's YouTube page posted Malone's episode on Wednesday, and people praised the discussion in the comments. YouTube user @runako2013 wrote: "Thank u for this! I just learned of Dr Malone! she is amazing... thank u again!" @camillehoward6504 said: "I'm hanging on to every word and taking notes from my favorite podcast." @BillionairesAreGods posted: "love you guys!" @ilhuicatlamatini added: "THIS is the episode I really needed, and perfect timing too because I've just watched it and in a few hours I have my gyno appt and will be talking to my Dr about some of the things discussed here. And now that I've looked up Dr Malone and seen the women's health website/company she works with, I will be checking it out soon too! I'm grateful for this information because it's so hard finding good Drs to help with everything gyno related. Thank you Dr Malone!" On Spotify, littlelionbeth shared: "Love this! More conversations about women's health, please!" What Happens Next New episodes of IMO with Michelle Obama & Craig Robinson are released on Wednesdays on platforms like Spotify, Apple Podcasts and YouTube.
Daily Mail
11-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
Michelle Obama reflects on grief as she endures first Mother's Day since her mom's death
Michelle Obama has opened up about her grief as she reflected on enduring her first Mother's Day since her mom's death. The 61-year-old took to Instagram with a clip from her IMO podcast - which she hosts alongside brother Craig Robinson - to discuss the impact of losing mom Marian Robinson in May last year. She died at age 86 with Michelle confirming her passing on social media at the time. In the new video shared to Instagram, the mom-of-two candidly opened up about her grief and explained: 'As many people know, we lost our mom and just sorting through how you feel because the first instinct is to say "I feel good, I'm great, I'm good."' Craig agreed, adding: 'Mom was so beloved by so many people from your orbit - which is gigantic - and my orbit and her own orbit. 'We spent a lot of time managing everybody else's grief and we really haven't talked much about our own grief so I'm happy we are able to do this now.' Michelle - who shares Malia and Sasha with former president Barack Obama - continued: 'You put it well. You find yourself managing other people's grief because particularly with somebody like mom that was in her own right amazingly - after all these years - she was a famous person. 'She meant a lot to so many people - people who knew her well, friends who grew up with us when we were little kids to... I got letters from heads of state and ambassadors. She became a world figure. That's a pretty amazing thing.' Reflecting further in the caption, Michelle candidly wrote: 'This Mother's Day will mark my first without my mom. 'My mom was many things: whipsmart, fiercely independent, kind, courageous, and determined. She was incredibly forward thinking, and was someone we could always count on to be there for us, especially during those White House years. 'For Craig and me, reflecting on her life on the IMO podcast has become a true form of solace, and we hope the episode will be helpful to those experiencing the same. 'To all those who are missing their mom or mother-figure a little extra today, we send you so much love.' It comes after Barack, 63, took to Instagram earlier in the day to share a black-and-white snapshot of Michelle alongside their two daughters. He wrote a simple caption on both Instagram and X (formerly Twitter) that read: 'Happy Mother's Day to all the amazing moms and mother-figures! 'Michelle, the girls and I are so lucky to have you in our lives. We love you.' It comes just days after Michelle opened up about losing her own mother on her IMO podcast with brother Craig Robinson. She exposed the brutal reaction from Barack after the death of mom Marian, as she explained: 'I guess if anything, with mom's loss, I think that - thank God you're my big brother and I have a husband who's older. 'Barack was saying, you know, "Well, you're next up." And I was like, "I'm not really ready to be next up," I told him, "You're next up and Craig is next up." I delegate that power to you.' 'That's really when you become an adult, is when your parents are not in that spot of managing and maintaining,' she continued. 'But that's going to happen at some point where each of us, in our own lives, we become the parent, we become the convener, we become the glue.' The brother and sister duo admitted on the show that the positions were 'big shoes to fill' after losing both of their parents. 'It's a major shift in your life,' Michelle continued. 'I don't care how old you get. Mom and dad are mom and dad. Even when I was taking care of mom, I still gotta listen to her. I can sort of boss her around but in the end, she's my mother.' 'There's a comfort level in that, knowing that no matter how wise or experienced I am in the world, mom always knew more.' Michelle has recently set the record straight after speculation over the former first couple's recent public appearances during a podcast with entrepreneur and investor Steven Bartlett. 'If I were having problems with my husband, everybody would know about it,' she said, laughing. Bartlett mentioned how the media had speculated about pair's future after she skipped out on Donald Trump's inauguration. The host said her absence left some believing 'there's an issue with you and Barack, there's a divorce coming.'
Yahoo
11-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Like Michelle Obama, I lost my mother last year. Here's what the year has taught me.
Last week's installment of 'IMO,' the podcast Michelle Obama hosts with her brother, Craig Robinson, was called 'What Losing Our Mother Taught Us About Love, Life, and Family.' Marian Robinson, who lived in the White House with the Obamas for eight years, died May 31 last year, and the siblings talked about what a major shift it is even for people in their 60s to lose a parent. Their father died of multiple sclerosis 34 years ago, and, for Obama, losing the woman who had been her lifelong rock — especially during the stressful White House years — left her facing the reality that she's 'next up.' In a previous appearance on Jay Shetty's 'On Purpose' podcast, Obama revealed that she's in therapy to figure out what her life means outside of the constraints of traditional family roles and, in part, to 'talk about how my relationship with my mother has affected how I think about things.' 'You don't really become an adult until your parents are gone,' she said on last week's podcast with her brother. 'When your parents are not in that spot of managing and maintaining, we become the parent, we become the convener, we become the glue.' And by 'we,' she means women, who are expected to broaden, not reduce, their mothering role as they age. They become Madea, Big Mama, Ma'dear, the family center who keeps the traditions, makes holiday magic, cares for the family's newest members and sets family expectations. Aging, exhausted mothers never retire. If they live long enough, they become matriarchs. Last week, I went to my backyard shed to prepare for my Mother's Day gardening. As I rifled through my stash of spades, gloves and tomato cages, I saw a dusty cardboard crate with my handwriting on the side: 'Grandma's dishes.' In the 1960s, my mother, then a military wife living in Japan, bought the set of Noritake bone china for her mother. To my knowledge, my grandmother — a country woman whose kitchen cabinets held Corningware and enamel pots — never used the delicate plates with the lacy blue pattern. And although the dishes sat in our dining room cabinet for decades after my grandmother died, I never knew my mother to even take a sip from one of the thin teacups. During a decluttering frenzy years ago, I'd stored the china in the shed. 'Why am I holding on to this?' I mumbled to myself. Maybe it's because the china, vintage and unused, represents the dreams my foremothers never realized. How desperately they longed to be accepted and worthy of something that fancy! But the plates also represented the miracle of a young, Black couple from the Jim Crow South raising a child overseas. How do I let go of the graceful bowls that held their dreams? What parts of my mother should I allow to slide into the past, and which parts should I preserve for the future? The dictionary definition of matriarch, 'a mother who is the ruler of her family and descendants,' implies royal power, firm control and undisputed leadership. But I daresay many women assume the matriarch title reluctantly, and with a healthy dose of passive aggression. They wake up one day and find themselves the keeper of the family flame simply because no one else will keep it. Apparently, Obama isn't having it. During the podcast, she reminded her brother that she's the younger sibling — and younger than her husband, the former president. 'I'm not next up,' she joked with Robinson. 'I delegate that power to you. I'm not really ready.' Who can blame her? It's a cruel twist to tell a woman she needs to become the top trad-gran after she's already dedicated the lion's share of her life to her family. If Obama doesn't want to become her tribe's connective tissue, then she may also need to use her time in therapy to define what it means to be a matriarch. It definitely shouldn't mean being everything to everyone until you're in the grave. 'After all that I've done in this world,' she told her brother and 'IMO' guest Taraji Henson in April, 'if I am showing [my daughters] that … I still have to show people that I love my country, that I'm doing the right thing, that I am … going high all the time — even in the face of a lot of hypocrisy and contradiction — all I'm doing is keeping that crazy bar that our mothers and grandmothers set for us.' Last Mother's Day weekend, we said goodbye to my mother, my dearest friend. In the disorienting months since, my grief has been drowned out by the Call of the Matriarch howling at my door. I became the repository of three generations of Christmas ornaments, two generations of recipes, nearly five generations of family history and the manager of a four-generation family home. It's taken me a while to test the boundaries of my own matriarchal powers. Slowly, I dared to cancel some holidays and downgrade others. (This Easter, for example, there was no big family meal, no new outfits, no backyard Easter egg hunt.) Not everyone who visits my home is entitled to a meal, although everyone is free to eat whatever's in the fridge. I thank God for social media, which helps me maintain family connections, because I'm never writing greeting cards or sending thank-you notes again. It's hard enough to squeeze in a call. Housework and meal prep are now team sports. I prioritize my passions and expect others to shape themselves around me. And my new (self) love language can be summarized in one word: 'No.' As this Mother's Day approached, I found myself filled with teary gratitude for all that my mother sacrificed for me. I'm looking for new ways to honor her. Because she rarely could, I'll stake out 'me time' in the garden. Then I'll nap or read or both. I hope Obama will find meaning for herself this Mother's Day, too. And as the new family matriarch, I'll take a sip from one of those pristine teacups and then place the dishes on OfferUp. Yes, dear Mother, we've always been worthy of the best. This article was originally published on
Yahoo
09-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Michelle Obama recalls Barack Obama joking after her mom's death: 'You're next up'
Michelle Obama is revealing how husband Barack Obama helped her find a sense of humor in the wake of her mother's death. The former first lady, 61, dedicated the May 7 episode of her "IMO" podcast, which she co-hosts with brother Craig Robinson, to having a frank conversation about how they have coped with their mother Marian Robinson's death in May 2024. "That's sort of the darned thing about being a grown-up. When you lose your parents, you're next up," Michelle Obama said as part of the siblings' response to a listener's question. "I guess if anything with mom's loss, I thank God you're my big brother and I have a husband who's older." She then recalled, "Because Barack was saying, 'Well, you're next up.' And I was like, 'I'm not really ready to be next up.' I told him, 'You're next up. And Craig is next up.'" On a somber note, she related to the listener, whose father recently died, by relating to how a family structure changes along with the health of one's parents. 'I'm not a martyr' Michelle Obama says 'everyone would know' if she divorced "That's really when you become an adult, when your parents are not in that spot of managing and maintaining. But that's going to happen at some point, where ... we become the parent, we become the convener, we become the glue," Obama said. She added, "There's a comfort level in knowing that no matter how wise or experienced I am in the world, Mom always knew more. Even if that wasn't true, it was just a good feeling, 'Let me go talk to my mommy.'" Later in the episode, Obama opened up about how she and her brother make an effort to stay close, despite her living in Washington, D.C, while he is in Milwaukee. She admitted that though "sometimes coming to (Robinson's) house is a little bit of a hassle" due to the level of security she has as a former first lady, she still makes time for his family. Why Michelle Obama is in therapy: 'Transitioning' from a 'really hard' time in White House "I even did pickup for the boys, and they were happy to see me in the motorcade," she said. "When I told my detail, 'We're doing pickup. We're gonna go to grammar school and pick up my nephews,' they were like, 'Yes ma'am.' So off we went." "Three SUVs later," Robinson joked. Obama added, "And 12 guys with guns." This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: michelle obama mom marian robinson death
