Former first lady Michelle Obama sure isn’t making — or keeping — friends within her Democratic inner circle.
And one of the country’s top Democratic voices and personalities just took the airwaves to call out Obama to remind her of just how “disrespectful” she’s been.
Late last week, Michelle Obama called out vocal ESPN personality Stephen A. Smith on her podcast.
During the latest episode of the “IMO” podcast, Obama compared Smith to reality TV stars and also compared ESPN’s shows to “The Real Housewives of Atlanta.”
“It’s all a sociological study. They think that sports is better reality TV, I’m like, ‘it’s the same thing.’ If I listen to ESPN for an hour, it’s like watching the ‘Real Housewives of Atlanta,’ you know?” Obama said.
“It’s the same drama, and they’re yelling at each other, and they don’t get along, you know?
“I mean, Stephen A. Smith, he’s just like every other. So that’s why I’m like, ‘what’s the difference?’ It’s just, you know, it’s just sociological drama. I mean, the fact that people over seasons of working still can’t get along. They still have the same arguments, you know, and it’s not just women. But this happens in sports, too. I find it fascinating.”
Ironically, Michelle Obama was named as a dream guest for a new ESPN show focused on women just last month.
The remarks did not sit well with Smith, who has quietly risen as a potential, pop-culture candidate for the Democratic presidential nomination in 2028 after attacking the Democratic Party’s establishment on numerous occasions.
“When you were campaigning on behalf of the former Vice President Kamala Harris … you said a vote for [President Donald] Trump was a vote against you and a vote against y’all as women. I want to say for the record – I took major offense to that.” Smith admitted.
“I think to this day is the only thing that I didn’t like that you said, I didn’t appreciate it. Because there’s so many things that go into deciding where your vote is going to go. For some people, it’s all about the economy. For others, it’s all about national security. For some people, it is immigration. For some people, it’s safety in the streets of America. Long before they think about pro-choice or pro-life.”
Smith reiterated that he voted for Harris and “wouldn’t vote for Trump,” but “wasn’t excited” how casting his vote for the former vice president “particularly after I heard about some of the shenanigans that the Democratic Party was engaging in leading up to the election.”
“But I’m talking specifically to you, Madam First Lady. You are not just beloved, you are revered. You are sensational in so many ways. I’ve been on the record on this show and many others stating had you run for president, you would have beat Trump. I still believe that … I believe if your husband elected to come back, he would beat Trump. That’s my personal belief . . .” Smith continued.
Smith then got into Obama’s comments about ESPN, saying he disagreed with those as well.
“So this doesn’t have anything to do with what you were talking about, how sports and reality TV mirror one another, even though we would beg to differ. Because a lot of things on reality TV are made-up situations and scenarios to provoke reactions and all of that stuff. We’re at sports, that’s live entertainment, and you’re actually competing against one another is big time. No, reality TV is not like that. You’re so wrong about that, about that assertion, but that’s neither here nor there.”
“You will never hear me utter a negative word about you, but I respectfully disagreed and still remain pretty salty about what you said about us,” Smith said, adding that he felt Obama “sort of blackmail[ed] us emotionally into trying to compel us to vote one way or another.”
Take a listen. Is this the start of a feud between the Obamas and Smith?