Fact Check: Did Michelle Obama admit she's a 'Black man' on her 'IMO' podcast?

BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS: A clip of former first lady Michelle Obama is going viral thanks to a misleading edit that makes it sound like she called herself a “Black man.” 

The video, ripped from an April 23 episode of her podcast 'IMO With Michelle Obama and Craig Robinson', has been shared widely on X (formerly Twitter), bringing back some of the most unhinged conspiracy theories out there about her gender.

Conservative commentator Paul Szypula posted a snippet where Michelle seems to say, “That warms my heart, particularly as a Black man.” Szypula wrote in the caption, “Interpret as you wish.”

Many on social media did just that, sparking a deluge of snark and conspiratorial takes.

“Wait what? I had to actually play the video to verify that was what she said, and not a misquote, and she did! WTF!” one user exclaimed.

“It takes b**ls to say that. Mr Obama,” another quipped.

“The truth always comes out,” someone else chimed in, convinced this was a so-called “slip-up” from the former first lady.

Fact Check: Claim that Michelle Obama admitted to being a 'Black man' is false

The full context tells a very different story.

Michelle was actually speaking to guest Marlon Wayans during a conversation about Black masculinity and raising transgender children. What she actually said was, “That warms my heart. Particularly as a Black man, would you care to share…” It was a question directed at Wayans and not some Freudian slip.

Community notes on X jumped in to correct the misleading post, but the misinformation had already started making the rounds.

As noted by fact-checkers at Snopes, the conspiracy theory is nothing new. Rumors that Michelle is transgender have been recycled and rehashed for over a decade, despite repeated debunkings.

Still, that hasn’t stopped conspiracy theorists from putting on their tinfoil hats every few months.

Role of Errol Musk in the conspiracy theory's resurgence

Earlier in February, Elon Musk’s father, Errol Musk, fanned the flames during an appearance on the 'Wide Awake Podcast' with Joshua Rubin.

“We realised Obama is a queer who is married to a man who dresses as a woman. We all learned that. It’s not common knowledge,” Errol said.

A stunned Rubin asked, “Michelle Obama is a man?” “Of course, you don’t know that?” Errol replied with confidence.

He then invoked a conspiracy theory involving the late comedian Joan Rivers, who insisted in 2014 that Michelle was “a tranny.” Rivers died just weeks later from brain damage caused by a lack of oxygen following a medical procedure.

“Joan Rivers mentioned it publicly and she was dead two weeks later, by the way. They axed her, yeah. So that’s common knowledge. You can look it up anywhere,” Errol insisted.

He added, “And yeah, Michelle Obama is a man, obviously. They have pictures of her in tracksuits with her 9-inch sc**ong hanging down... it’s leg.”

Racism, sexism, and the persistence of a lie about Michelle Obama

Despite being fact-checked countless times, the Michelle Obama “man” conspiracy theory refuses to die. According to Snopes, people still regularly search their site with terms like “Michelle Obama is really a man” or “Is Michelle Obama transgender?”

Experts say this has less to do with truth and more to do with deeply rooted bigotry.

“These claims will likely not go away,” Newly Paul, an associate professor of print/digital media at the University of North Texas, told Snopes. “They seem rooted in spite, sexism, and racism, which fact-checks cannot cure.”

The Smithsonian Institution has also noted that Americans tend to expect their first ladies to represent traditional ideals of “home, family, and womanhood.” That expectation makes Michelle — an outspoken, tall, muscular Black woman — a lightning rod for attacks rooted in misogyny, racism, and transphobia, experts say.

“By questioning her sexuality and her physical appearance, the memes attempt to paint her as completely opposite to the traditional notions of a first lady as feminine,” Paul added.

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