Michelle Obama is finally addressing Viola Davis’ controversial portrayal of her in Showtime’s 2022 drama “The First Lady.”
The topic came up during Obama’s recent appearance on the “Baby, This is Keke Palmer” podcast, when she described how she used to prepare for media interviews. The former first lady explained that she and her team would sometimes rehearse the response she really wanted to give before deciding on a more polished answer that she joked wouldn’t “shut down the presidency.”
Host Keke Palmer said Obama’s approach reminded her of a scene featuring Davis in “The First Lady.”
“Oh yeah, I didn’t watch that,” Obama replied with a laugh. “That’s the one thing I can’t do.”
She added that she loves Davis and would be interested in speaking with her, possibly on her “IMO” podcast.
“We can talk about that scene,” Obama joked. “Then I’ll watch it.”
Neither Obama nor Palmer specified which scene they meant, though it was likely the viral moment between Davis and her co-star O-T Fagbenle (who portrayed President Barack Obama), in which Michelle warns her husband about the dangers of running for president as a Black man and at one point uses racial slurs, including the N-word.
In that scene, Davis used exaggerated facial expressions and pursed lips in her portrayal of the former first lady, which quickly sparked backlash on social media.
Davis addressed viewers’ reactions in a 2022 BBC interview, saying it is “incredibly hurtful when people say negative things about your work.”
Describing criticism as an “occupational hazard” of acting, the Oscar winner reflected, “How do you move on from the hurt, from failure?” before adding, “But you have to. Not everything is going to be an awards-worthy performance.”
She added: “Critics absolutely serve no purpose. And I’m not saying that to be nasty either. They always feel like they’re telling you something that you don’t know … that you’re surrounded by people who lie to you, and ‘I’m going to be the person that leans in and tells you the truth.’ So it gives them an opportunity to be cruel to you.”
Ultimately, Davis concluded, “I feel like it is my job as a leader to make bold choices. Win or fail, it is my duty to do that.”
Davis appeared in “The First Lady” alongside Michelle Pfeiffer and Gillian Anderson, who portrayed Betty Ford and Eleanor Roosevelt, respectively. The cast also included Kiefer Sutherland as Franklin D. Roosevelt and Aaron Eckhart as Gerald Ford.
The Showtime drama ran for just one season in 2022 before being canceled later that summer.
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