We’ll never forget when Michelle Obama spoke at the 2016 Democratic National Convention, supporting her husband Barack Obama in his second bid for the presidency. Dressed in a custom blue fit-and-flare by Christian Siriano, she made one of her most famous comments to date: “When they go low, we go high.” It was the perfect sentiment for when someone chooses to act with purpose, integrity, and strategy over rage, which she deftly articulated during her 2022 The Light We Carry book tour.
But even she knows that sometimes you’ve got to go low.
That’s what she’s revealing on the latest episode of Baby, This Is Keke Palmer, premiering May 19. The former First Lady sat down with the I Love Boosters star for a round of “Are We Going Low, Or Are We Going High,” and the fellow podcast star had some illuminating responses.
Comfortably dressed in a slim, striped pencil skirt and sporting cascading braids in a low bun, Obama pontificated on times when leaving decorum behind is perfectly acceptable.
Like when someone’s shared something you told them in private.
“Sometimes when you’re talking with your friends, you’re like, ‘You’re going to say something,’” she called out, adding that you already know you shouldn’t have shared sensitive information with them because they couldn’t help but spill tea.
“That’s on me. But if it was something hurtful, I might go low.”
Along with the game, Obama gets candid about just about everything, including her love language, date nights with Barack and how her parenting style has changed as her children have grown from girls to women. She reveals which cultural figure left her the most star-struck. Along with speaking about her podcast and her book, The Look, she opened up about the freedom she’s discovering in this chapter of her life.
And Obama is still taking the high road in a few of these hypothetical scenarios. A co-worker took credit for her work? “I’d like to think I can go high in that moment because I’m an overachiever, people are gonna know what I do… and people will see that you didn’t do it,” she responded cheekily. “I’d rather let my work speak for itself.”
See the full interview on the latest episode of Baby, This is Keke Palmer at 9 a.m.ET. Watch or listen to new episodes of the series every Tuesday on YouTube, or wherever you get your podcasts.