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Former first lady Michelle Obama argued that getting accepted into college for being a star athlete is no different than being accepted due to affirmative action policies.
During Wednesday’s episode of Mrs. Obama's "IMO" podcast, comedian Josh Johnson spoke about his own experience as a young Black comedian and writer, sometimes being the only Black person in the room.
"It is funny because, like, you know, people talk about, like, DEI and some of these initiatives and everything. And the thing that's always funny to me about the outrage is that y'all already have the number," arguing that out of 100 people, 8-10 might be set aside for minorities or women, and then those positions are a source of outrage.
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Former First Lady Michelle Obama argued that affirmative action should be compared to getting accepted into college for being an athlete. (Tasos Katopodis/Getty)
He went on to argue that for many people, their belief is that were it not for those seats set aside, they would have gotten in, adding, "When it was just like 100 White slots. There was like the 101st White guy who couldn't get in. So it's like — you might not be able to beat other White people!"
"And they probably won't let you, because they will keep changing the rules to keep being at the top," Mrs. Obama said. "My first realization of that came when I went to Princeton, right? Because I got, you know, applied, but my counselor said, ‘I don't know if you're Princeton material.’ Even though my brother was there, even though I was a top student, it was like, so it set up this notion that this place is something really special."
The former first lady then suggested that while one might be insecure about benefiting from affirmative action, getting into college for being an athlete is basically the same thing.
Michelle Obama's podcasts frequently talk about cultural hot topics. (Michelle Obama YouTube channel)
"And so I got in, and I go, and I'm thinking — you're going with the insecurity that I only I got here because I was one of ‘the eight,’" she said. "But then I looked around and I saw all kinds of ‘affirmative action’ that never got discussed, you know. Being the kid of an alum, being an athlete, being a, you know, and you realize that why are we only drilling down on these eight Black kids that got in, just like you said, when all these other kids got in all kinds of ways that could be considered affirmative action."
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University Chapel by the dormitories on the campus of the Ivy League university of Princeton. Founded in 1746, the school is known for its engineering, science and humanities programs. (Pgiam/Getty Images)
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Alexander Hall is an associate editor for Fox News Digital. Story tips can be sent to [email protected].
