" My first full term , she take exception me to a drive - up competition . I ’m the First Lady ! "
Back in 2012,Ellen DeGeneresfamously challengedMichelle Obamato apush-up competitionlive on her self-titled talk show.
Of course , Michelle was the First Lady of the United States at the clock time , with her hubby , Barack Obama , having been elect president in 2008 .
While discussing Michelle’s public health campaign “Let’s Move,” which had been launched in the US a couple of years prior, Ellen wound up asking the First Lady about her own workout routine.
After Michelle noted that she tended to focus on cardio, lifting weights, and plyometric training, Ellen interjected and asked if she did push-ups. Seemingly caught off-guard, Michelle replied that she did in fact do push-ups — prompting Ellen to challenge her to a friendly contest then and there.
Michelle ended up winning by doing 25 push-ups, while Ellen gave up after 20. “How amazing is that, come on?!” Ellen asked the audience afterwards.
Fast forward to today, and Michelle has reflected on the push-up competition during a new appearance onAmy Poehler’sGood Hangpodcast.
The topic was brought up after Michelle noted that she’s “at the age” where she wakes up with random aches and pains, prompting a discussion about what kinds of workouts she and Amy do.
When Amy asked if she’s able to do push-ups, Michelle replied, “Yeah…Well, now I do them on my knees. This is another thing — I don’t need to do regular push-ups. I have nothing to prove,” before noting that she finds “regular” push-ups “hard” because her “arm length doesn’t go all the way down.”
Michelle then recalled, “In fact, you know who pointed that out was Ellen because my first term, she challenged me to a push-up competition. I’m the First Lady!” Amy quipped, “Sounds like Ellen.”
Michelle continued, “She heard that I worked out, so I’m on her show doing push-ups. And I did more push-ups than her but she still says I didn’t go down all the way. Anatomically, I don’t think I can. My arms are very long and she’s a much smaller person than me.”
Michelle’s remarks have since sparked a heap ofdiscourse online, with several people suggesting that it was pretty bizarre for the First Lady to randomly be challenged to a push-up contest live on air.
For context , before Ellen ’s talk of the town show went off air in 2022 — roughly two years afterBuzzFeed News bring out an investigative pieceabout the alleged toxicenvironmenton set — the master of ceremonies was repeatedly accused of pushing her guests’boundariesand take themuncomfortable . This scrutiny has only increase since the show came to an remainder , with several citizenry reexamine the dynamic between Ellen and her guests .
“The entire premise of this is wild and I cannot believe it actually happened. Ellen was something else,” one person said in response to Michelle’s latest quotes. “This is genuinely so wild to me,” someone agreed.
“ The number of time I ’ve seen Ellen require a Edgar Guest to do something , Edgar Albert Guest says no , Ellen keeps ask until they do it , ” one user write . “ Ellen was always doing questionable thing on her show . It was n’t until she really got pushback that it stopped then her show ended , ” another added .
