No, CNN’s David Chalian did not call Michelle Obama ‘Big Mike’ – it’s a doctored clip
Trans rumours about Michelle Obama are circulating yet again. (Erika Goldring/Getty)
A doctored political broadcast clip claiming the former US First Lady Michelle Obama is trans and called “Big Mike” has blown up online, despite being fake.
A clip of CNN’s political director David Chalian has been edited so that he refers to the 60-year-old, who served as First Lady from 2009 to 2017, as “Big Mike.”
The segment sees Chalian discussing the results of a CNN flash poll about the presidential debate between US President Joe Biden and disgraced former President Donald Trump on the 27 June.
A spokesperson for CNN said in an email that the video is “fake” and “has been altered”, Reuters reported.
Obama, the wife of former President Barack Obama, has repeatedly been the target of right-wing hate.
In the CNN broadcast, Chalian says: “’Who won the debate?’ We asked the debate watchers in our instant poll and the answer is a resounding, ‘Donald Trump did.’”
“67 percent of debate watchers in our poll say Donald Trump won the debate tonight and Joe Biden, 33 percent say he won the debate tonight.”
The video then reaches the edited section where audio has been doctored so Chalian says: “I mean, guys, at this point – I don’t give a sh*t if they bring out Gavin Newsom, or maybe Hillary Clinton, or even Big Mike. I mean, Michelle Obama. Sorry, I don’t know why I said Big Mike.” You can see the altered clip below:
Sharing the doctored clip, a Facebook post also states: “Oops! A CNN analyst lets it slip, referring to Michelle Obama as ‘Big Mike.’ Even the liberal media knows the truth.”
The Internet Archive shows that in the original broadcast clip, Chalian actually said: “Now, this group of debate watchers, they told us who they thought would win the debate going into it, before the debate, and take a look at how that changed over time.”
Previous trans conspiracy theories
This is not the first time that trans conspiracy theories have circulated, nor is it the first time that the former First Lady has been the subject of fake rumours.
As far back as 2014, she was falsely labelled a trans woman. This is seemingly an attempt by transphobic bigots to imply that being trans is something to be ashamed of.
Joan Rivers refused to apologise to her after she said “Michelle is a tr***y” and that the first lady is “a transgender, we all know.”
She claimed: “I think it’s a compliment. She’s so attractive, tall, with a beautiful body, great face, does great makeup.
“Take a look and go back to La Cage Au Follies [sic]. The most gorgeous women are transgender.
In 2020, these fake allegations were once again reignited when far-right conspiracy theorist and Infowars host Alex Jones claimed he had “evidence” of her being trans.
He points to her “very wide shoulders” and her “very masculine” face as significant proof of his theory.
In the same year, failed Republican congressional hopeful DeAnna Lorraine claimed that Michelle Obama was going to come out as trans.
“Michelle Obama is releasing a documentary on Netflix called Becoming. I wonder what she’s becoming.” Lorraine tweeted on April 28.
And of course, Donald Trump Jr, the eldest son of Trump, has spread rumours about her online.
On Transgender Day of Visibility (31 March), Trump Jr shared a now-deleted Instagram post that claimed Obama is trans.
It’s not only political figures who have faced false social media posts about their gender identity. Earlier in July, a Facebook post went viral claiming that Stranger Things actor Gaten Matarazzo had come out as transgender. In fact, The photos the account shared were actually images of Hereditary actress Milly Shapiro, not Gaten Matarazzo.
Unfortunately, it seems transphobia and online misinformation seem to be increasingly comfortable bedfellows.
