Barack's Brutal Joke: Michelle Obama Reveals The CRUEL Remark Her Husband Made After Her Mother's Death — As Divorce Rumors Ramp Up
Michelle Obama revealed the distasteful joke Barack made in the wake of her mother's death.
May 8 2025, Published 5:30 p.m. ET
Michelle Obama has shared the cruel joke husband Barack made to her following the death of her mother, Marian Robinson, RadarOnline.com can reveal.
The former first lady and her brother Craig Robinson opened up about their mother's death during a recent episode of their IMO podcast.
Barack Told His Wife 'You're Next' After Her Mother's Death
Marian Robinson died aged 86 on May 31, 2024.
While discussing their mother, who died aged 86 on May 31, 2024, Michelle recalled a shocking comment Barack made to her shortly after.
She told her brother: "Barack was saying, you know, 'Well, you're next up.'
"I was like, 'I'm not really ready to be next up.'"
But Michelle turned the cruel joke around on Barack and quipped back: "I told him, 'You're next up and Craig is next up.' I delegate that power to you."
As the siblings neared the one-year anniversary of their mother's death, Michelle and Craig reflected on how her passing changed them.
Michelle told her husband he was 'next up' and then her brother.
Michelle noted: "That's really when you become an adult.
"It's when your parents are not in that spot of managing and maintaining. That's going to happen at some point where each of us, in our own lives, we become the parent, we become the convener, we become the glue."
Later in the episode, the pair said they had "big shoes to fill" after the deaths of their mother and father, Fraser C. Robinson III, who died in 1991.
The first lady added: "It's a major shift in your life. I don't care how old you get. Mom and dad are mom and dad.
"Even when I was taking care of mom, I still gotta listen to her. I can sort of boss her around, but in the end, she's my mother.
"There's a comfort level in that, knowing that no matter how wise or experienced I am in the world, mom always knew more."
Former First Lady Reveals She's in 'Transitioning' to Next Phase of Her Life
Michelle confessed she needed support 'transitioning' away from life in Washington D.C.
Since launching her podcast, Michelle has become an open book about her private life, including sharing about going back to therapy and how her unusual choices sparked divorce rumors about her marriage.
During a recent appearance on Jay Shetty's On Purpose podcast, Michelle revealed she's currently in therapy because she's "transitioning" to her next chapter.
She explained: "At this phase of my life, I'm in therapy right now because I’m transitioning, you know? I’m 60 years old, I finished a really hard thing in life with my family intact.
"I'm an empty nester. You know my girls are in — they’ve been launched. And now for the first time, as I’ve said before, every choice I'm making is completely mine.
"I now don’t have the excuse of, 'Well my kids need this,' or 'my husband needs that,' or 'the country needs that.' So how do I think about this next phase, and let me get some help."
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Michelle shared how her decision to 'make choices' for herself fueled divorce rumors.
This isn't the first time Michelle has been candid about her mental health journey after "surviving" eight years in the White House.
The 61-year-old noted therapy empowered her to embrace saying "no" to obligations, which ended up fueling rumors about her marriage when she declined to attend two back-to-back Washington D.C. events with Barack.
She said: "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, like people couldn't believe that I was saying no for any other reason, that they had to assume that my marriage was falling apart, you know?
"It's like, while I'm here really trying to own my life and intentionally practice. Making the choice that was right for me. And it took everything in my power to not do the thing that was perceived as right, but do the things that was for me, that was a hard thing for me to do."
