Former First Lady Michelle Obama says she and former President Barack Obama were “held to higher standards” because they are black.
She made the remarks during an upcoming interview with ABC’s “Good Morning America,” set to air Sunday morning.
“You said we were all too aware that as a first black couple, we couldn’t afford any missteps,” the interviewer asked. “And you also say as a black woman, I was under a particularly white, hot glare. Did you feel that?”
“For sure,” Obama replied. “You can’t afford to get anything wrong because you didn’t get the—at least until the country came to know us.”
“We didn’t get the grace that I think some other families have gotten,” she added.
Her comments come despite the fact that Barack Obama won the 2008 presidential election by a landslide and was re-elected in 2012 by a comfortable margin.
Since leaving office, the Obamas have built a global brand, securing multimillion-dollar book deals, signing with Netflix, and collecting large speaking fees.
Even so, Michelle Obama has continued to focus on themes of race and privilege, often portraying her family as misunderstood or unfairly judged.
Last month, she said she felt pressure as one of the few Black students at Princeton and acknowledged that some assumed she was admitted through affirmative action.
“All my scores said I did not belong in Princeton,” she said. “People saw my skin color and said, ‘You are aiming too high.’”