Was Michelle Obama born biologically male and named Michael? Of course not, but many people believe that to be the case. In 2019, a satirical website published a fake story claiming that Obama’s mother had died and left everything in her will to her son, Michael Robinson Obama. The newspiece was widely circulated as truth and was still gaining traction in 2022, per AP. The conspiracy was given an extra push when Joan Rivers proclaimed in 2014, per CNN, “You know Michelle is a trans.” What’s more, social media also circulated a doctored image of a young Michelle whose face had been altered to have masculine features. It was even shared by Wanda Freeman Barzizza, the wife of a formal mayoral candidate from Tennessee.
The theory again caught steam in 2023. Podcaster Jason Whitlock propagated the misinformation while Republican Omar Navarro took to X (via Newsweek), formerly Twitter, to ask followers to “retweet if you think Michelle Obama is really a man.” At the same time, conservative commentator Terrance K. Williams posted a poll asking, “Do you believe this rumor that Michelle Obama is a man” – 50% of respondents said yes.
Explaining why the theory has had such longevity, Newly Paul, an associate professor of print/digital media at the University of North Texas, told Snopes. “These claims will likely not go away [because] they seem rooted in spite, sexism, and racism, which fact-checks cannot cure.”
