Marvel actor Kumail Nanjiani shuts down wild rumor of affair with Michelle Obama

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: Kumail Nanjiani has weighed in on one of the stranger celebrity rumors that he was allegedly having an affair with former first lady Michelle Obama.

The 47-year-old comedian and Marvel actor addressed the chatter during Thursday’s episode of the 'So True With Caleb Hearon' podcast, making it clear the whole thing was pure fiction. 

A rumor Kumail Nanjiani never saw coming

Nanjiani, who has been married to writer and producer Emily V Gordon since 2007, admitted he didn’t even know the rumor existed until it made its way to his wife.

“There was a rumor going around last year that I was having an affair with Michelle Obama,” Nanjiani told Hearon, prompting the host to blurt out, “Congratulations!”

The actor played along with the absurdity. “I know, I was so excited,” Nanjiani said, before explaining how the gossip reached home. “My friend — our mutual friend — pulled Emily aside and was like, ‘Hey, I heard that Kumail and Michelle Obama are like doing it.’”

According to Nanjiani, Gordon didn’t react with shock or outrage. He noted that his wife hadn’t been “upset” by the claim and added that “multiple people brought it up to me.”

That’s when Nanjiani set the record straight in the most basic way possible.

“I never met Michelle Obama,” he said. Hearon chimed in, “Okay, so no affair, got it.”

Another Obama rumor enters the chat

Hearon then pointed out that Nanjiani wasn’t the only celebrity being linked to the Obamas at the time. Another rumor that went around alongside his involved Jennifer Aniston and former President Barack Obama.

“Oh my God. What do we think? Do we think it’s real?” Nanjiani joked.

The host responded by putting things into perspective. “I don’t know. But what I’m saying is from my friend Kumail — you’re up with Jen Aniston in terms of affair rumors.”

Nanjiani, however, was quick to dismiss any notion that these alleged pairings made sense. “I don’t know. I think Michelle’s slumming it, and to be honest, no shade to Jen, Barack’s slumming it too,” he said.

He added, “I think Michelle Obama is a very high bar to clear. And I love Jennifer Aniston, I’m genuinely a huge fan.”

Aniston herself publicly shut down the Barack Obama rumor last October during an appearance on Jimmy Kimmel Live!.

“Of all the calls you get from your publicist where you’re just like ‘Oh, no, what’s it gonna be?’” the Friends alum said. “Or you get an email saying some cheesy tabloid is gonna make up a story — and then it’s that…”

Aniston admitted she wasn’t offended by the gossip. “I was not mad at it,” she said with a laugh, but emphasized that it was “absolutely untrue.”

Michelle Obama has been married to Barack since 1992, and the couple shares two children.

A marriage that started with a heckle

As for Nanjiani’s own love life, his relationship with Gordon is well-documented.

The pair first met in 2006 when Gordon heckled Nanjiani during one of his stand-up comedy routines. A year later, he stood by her side during a major health crisis when she was placed in a medically induced coma for eight days and diagnosed with Still’s disease.

Following her recovery, the couple married later that same year in July 2007 at Chicago’s City Hall.

Five years after relocating to Los Angeles, Nanjiani and Gordon co-wrote the screenplay for the 2017 film 'The Big Sick,' which was based on their real-life relationship.

The movie starred Nanjiani alongside Zoe Kazan, Holly Hunter, Ray Romano, Bo Burnham, and Zenobia Shroff. It went on to become both a critical and box office success.

The film earned multiple accolades, including an Academy Award nomination for Best Original Screenplay.