A rumor that circulated on social media and conservative blogs in late April and early May 2025 claimed a video authentically showed former first lady Michelle Obama telling Marlon Wayans she is a Black man. This matter referenced a brief clip from an episode of Obama's "IMO" podcast, which she hosts with her brother, Craig Robinson. The episode, released on Obama's YouTube channel and other podcast platforms on April 30, featured brothers and entertainers Damon and Marlon Wayans as guests.
However, an examination of the in-question video found Obama was referring to Marlon Wayans — not herself — as a Black man. The false rumor, which conservative bloggers and users promoted with misleading captions and headlines, was the latest chapter in the long-running and baseless conspiracy theory positing that Obama is a transgender woman originally named Michael. Some users referenced the matter using the name "Big Mike."
A representative for Obama did not yet respond to an emailed request asking if they wished to comment on the matter.
Examining the false rumor
In a prime example of the false rumor spreading online, a conservative X user with more than 3.6 million followers posted (archived) a 22-second clip from Obama's podcast with the caption, "Michelle Obama: 'You're raising a trans kid. That warms my heart, as a black man.'" The post received more than 6.2 million views.
(@EndWokeness/X)
Numerous social media users, as well as conservative-leaning blogs and commentators, promoted the false rumor with misleading captions and headlines. Most social media users shared the clip either as a 4-second (archived) or 22-second version (archived), with some posts including the caption, "You're raising a trans kid. That warms my heart, as a black man." Others simply posted the second sentence, "That warms my heart, as a black man."
Beginning at the 55:29 mark in the full "IMO" podcast episode on YouTube, Obama asks Marlon Wayans a question about his transgender son. During part of her question, she references Wayans as a "Black man," asking, "And, you know, that warms my heart. Particularly as a Black man, um, you know, I wou-, would you care to share that journey of ...?" In response, Wayans says, in part, that "their transition really taught me what real unconditional love was."
The relevant part of the podcast transpired as follows:
MICHELLE OBAMA: Well, speaking of parenting, I wanted to talk, Marlon, a bit about, um, you know, just so proud of how, uh, you are being a role model for dealing with a child that's transgender.
MARLON WAYANS: Absolutely.
OBAMA: And, you know, that warms my heart. Particularly as a Black man, um, you know, I wou-, would you care to share that journey of …?
WAYANS: Well, I-, I learned, like, and, their transition really taught me what real unconditional love was.
OBAMA: Yep.
WAYANS: When I went-, when they went through the transition, I actually went through the transition.
OBAMA: Yep.
WAYANS: I went from denial to complete acceptance. And it took me a week to get there, you know. And what I've learned as a parent is, for you to stop loving your child because of their choice and their life, that's a poor reflection on you. You know what I mean? When there's people that go, "I'm not going to associate with you because you do that," or, "This is against God and this isn't." It's like, listen, I am not here to judge. I am not God.
OBAMA: Yeah.
WAYANS: Only God can judge. And I say this, you know? And if that's a mistake and we get to heaven and God don't let my child in, I'ma shave a beard and sneak him in through the back.
[laughing]
WAYANS: But I'm going to love my baby and I'm never going to, I'm a father. And I'm always going to defend them. Always going to protect them. Always gonna respect them. And there's nothing anybody could ever tell me. I could lose fans, good. I lost people that are small-minded …
OBAMA: Yeah.
WAYANS: … small-hearted and dumb, and self-loathing.
OBAMA: Amen.
WAYANS: So goodbye. And I gained, for every one I lose, I gained 150 more.
For further reading, another fact check examined a made-up story claiming Obama received monthly payments of $122,000 from the U.S. General Services Administration.