Despite having millions in assets and a clean bill of health, Michelle Obama admitted in a Wednesday episode of her podcast that the current state of the world has emotionally affected her.
In a Wednesday episode of Spotify’s “The Michelle Obama Podcast,” the former first lady admitted she is suffering from “some form of low-grade depression.”
“I know that I am dealing with some form of low-grade depression,” she said. “Not just because of the quarantine, but because of the racial strife, and just seeing this administration, watching the hypocrisy of it, day in and day out, is dispiriting,” she said in the latest episode of her podcast released Wednesday.
Obama added that her sleep has also been affected by those factors, describing her feelings as a “heaviness.” Obama, who grew up in the Southside of Chicago, said she wants people to know their experience during this double pandemic — systemic racism and the coronavirus outbreak — matters.
The episode also featured journalist Michele Norris. On Wednesday, Obama, 56, promoted the show as an opportunity to talk about changes during the pandemic.
“I want to hear about the conversations you’ve been having with your family and friends during this pandemic. How are you all managing it?”
“I’ve gone through those emotional highs and lows that I think everybody feels, where you just don’t feel yourself, and sometimes ... there has been a week or so where I had to surrender to that, and not be so hard on myself,” she said during the podcast.
Her admission was heralded by some and lambasted by others. While some said her honesty helped normalize the feelings of many Americans, others viewed the comments as out of touch.
Obama has been lauded as one of the most inspirational women of the last decade. She for several years has been named the “most admired woman” in the world in the annual Gallup poll. She has also broadened her reach with speaking tours, her best-selling book “Becoming,” a Netflix deal and now her podcast.
Those who found her comments offensive say the Obamas’ financial status and power do not allow for truly understanding the emotional state of Americans facing economic crisis now. In 2018, the Obamas estimated net worth was calculated at about $40 million, according to Forbes magazine.
Nearly 1.1 million people filed for unemployment last week, according to an Atlanta Journal-Constitution report Thursday.
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