Overview

• Michelle Obama recounted her 2012 push-up competition with Ellen DeGeneres during an appearance on the Good Hang podcast, sparking renewed interest in the incident.
• The contest occurred on The Ellen DeGeneres Show while discussing Obama’s Let’s Move campaign, with the then-First Lady performing 25 push-ups to Ellen’s 20.
• Online discussions have questioned the appropriateness of challenging a sitting First Lady to a physical contest during a public health campaign segment.
• The anecdote has reignited scrutiny of Ellen DeGeneres’s on-air interactions with guests, following allegations of a toxic workplace that ended her show in 2022.
• Obama shared that she now performs push-ups on her knees, emphasizing she has 'nothing to prove' and highlighting how her fitness approach has evolved over time.