Michelle Obama Recalls Ellen DeGeneres’ Push-Up Challenge: ‘I’m the First Lady, You Know’
Michelle Obama is reminiscing about her 2012 appearance on The Ellen DeGeneres Show. The former first lady, 61, sat down with Amy Poehler for the Tuesday, April 13, episode of Good Hang with Amy Poehler. When Poehler, 53, began discussing sleeping habits and health with Michelle, the former first lady asked the comedian if she does yoga to help her frozen shoulder.
Poehler mimed the gesture, which brought the topic to push-ups, and she asked the former first lady if she could still do them.
“Well, now I do them on my knees. It’s like, I don’t need to do regular push-ups,” Michelle said. “I have nothing to prove. But I can do push-ups on my knees.”
Poehler then responded, “But you can do regular push-ups too?”
“I can, but it’s – I think my arm length, I don’t go all the way down. In fact, you know who pointed that out was Ellen,” Michelle said, referencing Ellen DeGeneres.
“Sounds like Ellen,” Poehler jokingly quipped.
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Michelle then recalled the 2012 episode, in which DeGeneres, 67, challenged her to beat her in a push-ups contest.
“She challenged me to a push-up competition,” Michelle began. “I’m the first lady, and 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.”
She reiterated, “Anatomically, I don’t think I really can. My arms are very long, and she’s a much smaller person than me.”
Poehler then said of another podcast guest, Craig Robinson, “I was just talking to Craig about this. Smaller people…” When she trailed off, Michelle joked, “We like them. Some of our smaller people are some of our best friends.”
Poehler then jumped back in and humorously quipped, “I don’t know, I don’t trust some.”
Michelle responded, “What do you mean? Pocket people, we love them. It’s like, ‘look at you down there little friend.’ “
The former first lady appeared on Ellen numerous times, before and after her time in the White House. In 2018, she appeared on the show to discuss life after Barack’s presidency. In 2019, the pair surprised an elementary school in Washington D.C. with charitable donations and $100,000.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, Michelle gave DeGeneres an exclusive interview regarding the former first family’s quarantine routine. Before The Ellen DeGeneres Show ended in 2022, the pair took a tour of the Warner Bros.’ Studio lot, stopping at the set of hit sitcom Friends, for a segment on the show.
New episodes of Good Hang drop on Tuesdays on YouTube and streaming services.
