Last month, former first lady Michelle Obama announced the launch of a new Obama family business venture.
She and her brother, Craig Robinson, launched a new podcast, “IMO.”
According to a press release released by Michelle’s team at the time of her announcement, she and her brother will “give their opinions and candid perspectives to the everyday questions shaping [their] lives, relationships, and the world around [them].”
“Through honesty, humor, and deep reflection, they uncover the shared experiences that connect us all,” Obama adds in the release.
“With everything going on in the world, we’re all looking for answers and people to turn to,” she said.
“My brother Craig and I launched the IMO podcast to create a space for people to come as they are, ask honest questions, give their opinions, and have thoughtful conversations about life.”
The hype around Michelle’s new podcast was met with a lot of publicity and fanfare, including the pilot episode being filmed and broadcast at the famous SXSW expo.
But a little less than one month into the new podcast, and the viewership numbers are not good.
In fact, they are pretty dismal considering the name recognition of someone like Michelle Obama.
One of the first episodes featured a sitdown with actor Seth Rogen, who has been very famous for the better part of two decades. He’s a legit Hollywood star, but his visit did not help with her podcast’s viewership.
Early figures at the time saw just 3,400 views in the episode’s first eight hours. Viewership has since spiked to over 200,000, but only after two full weeks.
Social media users have also complained the her podcast is not authentic. One viewer quipped that she was using the podcast to talk about commercial plane manners, despite realistically not flying commercial for decades.
Michelle Obama giving Plane etiquette lessons. When is the last time she flew on a commercial airliner? pic.twitter.com/FyNd2PllTG
— Saagar Enjeti (@esaagar) March 17, 2025
Since leaving the White House in 2017, she has written two books, “Becoming” and “The Light We Carry: Overcoming in Uncertain Times,” both memoirs.
However, the hype around her new podcast comes as she has recently appeared to make even more of a concerted effort to remove herself from the political spotlight, even distancing herself from events with her husband Barack.
In January, Michelle skipped former president Jimmy Carter’s funeral and did not attend President Trump’s inauguration.
Barack attended both events by himself.
Multiple reports have surfaced that Michelle has been “checked out” of Washington, DC, life since their family left the White House in 2017.
Barack was spotted sitting courtside at a Los Angeles Clippers game last week without Michelle.
Instead, Obama, a huge basketball fan, was spotted with Clippers owner Steve Ballmer and his wife, Connie Snyder, according to the reports from TMZ.
When his attendance was announced on the big screen at the brand new Intuit Dome, Obama jumped to his feet and waved as the crowd gave him a standing ovation.
The night before the Clippers game, Barack was spotted out eating a fancy dinner at Anajak Thai restaurant in Sherman Oaks with his daughters Malia and Sasha.
Michelle did not attend, according to TMZ.