Former First Lady Michelle Obama has opened up for the first time about her controversial decision to skip President Donald Trump’s 2017 inauguration, revealing it was a deeply personal choice made to protect her peace and set boundaries.
In a candid conversation on her IMO Podcast, co-hosted with her brother Craig Robinson, Obama told guest Taraji P. Henson that she had to “trick herself” into not attending the event by intentionally avoiding any preparations, including refusing to have an outfit ready, Page Six reported.
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“I had to basically trick myself out of it, and it started with not having anything to wear,” she said. “I was like, if I’m not going to do this thing, I’ve got to tell my team. I don’t even want to have a dress ready, right?” She explained that simply having a dress prepared could have pushed her to attend out of pressure to “do the right thing” in the public’s eye — a narrative she wanted to step away from.
“My decision to skip the inauguration — you know what people don’t realize, or my decision to make choices at the beginning of this year that suited me, were met with such ridicule and criticism,” Obama said. She also addressed the persistent rumors that her absence signaled trouble in her marriage to former President Barack Obama. “People couldn’t believe that I was saying no for any other reason,” she said.
“They had to assume that my marriage was falling apart.”
For Obama, the decision became a broader reflection on the societal pressure women, especially public figures, face when making choices that prioritize their well-being. “It took everything in my power not to do the thing that was perceived as right, but do the thing that was right for me. That was a hard thing for me to do,” she said.
While Barack Obama did attend Trump’s inauguration, Michelle’s absence drew both criticism and support. On social media, her comments reignited admiration from fans who praised her for setting boundaries and resisting expectations.
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“The vulnerability and knowledge being passed in this episode is so deep,” one user wrote. “Huge takeaway as a Black woman of learning to say NO!” Others were even more direct. “I was happy you ain’t go to that clown show ‘inauguration.’ I felt like it was the right thing for all of us to see,” one person tweeted.
As Michelle Obama emphasized, skipping the event wasn’t about politics—it was about peace, self-respect, and refusing to play along with a system that didn’t offer the same in return.
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