Michelle Obama just gave a new reason for skipping Donald Trump’s second inauguration — she didn’t have anything to wear.
“It started with not having anything to wear,” she said on her podcast with her brother Craig Robinson. “I mean, I had affirmatively, cause I’m always prepared for any funeral, anything.”
She explained that she told her team not to even prep a dress. “If I’m not going to do this thing, I got to tell my team, I don’t even want to have a dress ready,” she said. “Because it’s so easy to just say, let me do the right thing.”
Ahead of the January 20 inauguration, she and Barack Obama released a joint statement. He would attend. She would not.
Michelle Obama also skipped former President Jimmy Carter’s funeral earlier this year.
She addressed the public speculation during the podcast. Many assumed her absence had to do with marriage trouble.
“My decision to skip the inauguration… were met with such ridicule and criticism,” she said. “People couldn’t believe that I was saying no for any other reason.”
Taraji P. Henson, who joined the episode, backed her up. “You’ve had to be shock absorbers… When do you ever get to live for you? I applaud you.”
Michelle said she’s trying to pass that mindset on to Sasha and Malia. “I want them to start practicing now the art of saying no,” she said.
She shot down the divorce rumors once again in a separate podcast on April 9. “I’m here really trying to own my life… and do the thing that was right for me,” she said.