Conservative commentator Megyn Kelly is using her show to promote Michelle Obama’s latest book, “The Look”.
On the Tuesday, November 4, episode of “The Megyn Kelly Show,” the host dedicated a segment to dismiss Obama’s claims of needing to conform to society’s standards when it came to her appearance as the first lady.
“The Look,” reflects on Michelle Obama’s most iconic fashion and beauty moments in the White House and the pressures she faced as the first Black First Lady.
“As women of color, the way our hair naturally grows out of our head is beautiful, but if we struggle to make it look like the standard, that means we are spending thousands of hours and lots of money straightening out what is naturally curly hair, right?” Obama said in her book. “And that takes time out of your life. It costs money.”
Kelly struggled to fathom how Obama and Black women in general believe their hair isn’t accepted by society.
“What she’s saying is she’s bitter because society’s standards, in her view, don’t allow Black women to just walk around with their natural hair. That is bull—-. Black women can walk around with whatever hair they want,” Kelly noted. “Only in Michelle Obama’s warped mind, do White people not like them, unless their hair looks like White hair.”
The podcast host strongly believes that Black women’s extra care towards their appearance is not an isolated experience, rather a universal one.
“The nerve of this woman to pretend that Black women are the only women who have to spend a bunch of time getting their natural hair, to, quote, ‘conform to these alleged society standards’ because virtually every woman I know, every woman, spends a s— ton of time on her hair and wants it to look better than God made it,” Kelly noted. “It’s not a Black thing. It’s a human thing, and it’s especially a woman thing, but she’s always reducing everything to race.”
“So it’s a Black woman who you can’t tell how to wear her hair. Can you tell the White women? How about the Asians?” the mom-of-three said. “How about Indian women? They have very thick hair. Lot of times it’s curly. It gets unruly. I’m sure they have to do the irons, just like you, Michelle, just like White women do too, by the way.”
“The Look”
“The Look”, released Tuesday, showcases Obama’s style throughout her time in the White House. She describes how the media and public’s “fascination” with her bare arms was used as a tool to “otherize” her.
“Yet when I became First Lady and wore a deep purple V-neck Narciso Rodriguez dress to Barack’s first address to a joint session of Congress, it caused an uproar. It became clear that I was being held to a very different standard,” Michelle writes.
From her style of dress to her hair, Obama talks about the scrutiny she faced and the silver linings that came from it.
“The upside was the number of women who told me they felt more comfortable showing their arms after seeing me in these dresses or tops. I was honored that those people saw my arms as a symbol of strength,” she concludes.