Michelle Obama was an unexpected surprise with her satellite appearance at last Sunday’s Oscar ceremony.
Beamed live from the White House into the Dolby Theater, the First Lady unsealed the envelope and announced that the Best Picture award would go to “Argo.”
Not everyone was thrilled by her virtual appearance though. Some critics accused the first lady of selfishly crashing the event in an attempt to upstage it.
After the hubbub, Michelle said it’s “absolutely not surprising” that she caused a stir.
“Shoot, my bangs set off a national conversation. My shoes can set off a national conversation. That’s just sort of where we are. We’ve got a lot of talking going on,” she said to the Associated Press.
“It’s like everybody’s kitchen-table conversation is now accessible to everybody else so there’s a national conversation about anything.”
Americans have long been fascinated by their first ladies, scrutinizing everything from their clothes and hair to the issues they promote and how they raise their children.
Mrs. Obama acknowledged that she and President Obama have added appeal and are sometimes subject to extra scrutiny because they are the first black family in the White House and because they are a young couple (she turned 49 last month; he’s 51) with young children (daughters Sasha, 11, and Malia, 14).
Despite the heightened scrutiny, she said she doesn’t give a second thought to critical comments about what she does as first lady.
“I just don’t think about that stuff,” said Mrs. Obama, who was asked for her reaction to the criticism during an interview with a small group of reporters who were invited to accompany her on a three-city tour marking the third anniversary of her “Let’s Move” campaign against childhood obesity.
Her strategy, she said, is to do things that further her larger goals and Oscar night fit with her support for the arts. For example, she recently invited the director and cast members from the Oscar-nominated film “Beasts of the Southern Wild” to the White House to participate in a question-and-answer session with students from Washington and New Orleans who had seen the film at the executive mansion.
During the interview, Obama also said she was astounded by the buzz about cutting her hair to add bangs.
Asked if she was surprised that the bangs made the news, she said: “I was, I have to say. I’m like, ‘it’s a haircut.'”
WITH AP