'If Melania said this': Michelle Obama's comment on 'designers of colour' sparks racist accusations online

Former First Lady of the United States of America, Michelle Obama is one of the most influential female figures in the United States. From her ideologies to her fashion sense, the 62-year-old former lawyer, has consistently used her public platform to influence her long-term fans and followers. However, her recent comment has many reconsidering their choice of Obama as their idol. In an episode honouring her and her newly launched fashion book 'The Look', Obama talked about her choice in buying clothes from designers and how she ensures the representation of colour in them. Obama was joined by Tamira Chapman, Kinna Thomas and Kahlana Barfield Brown for a conversation with Storehouse & Friends. When talking about supporting designers of colour and representing them, Obama reminded the viewers of being perceptive of what brands they are buying from and who they are supporting. "If I hear of someone who is fashionable and I like and I know that they are a person of colour, I try to make it a point. But the clothes have to be available." she began. "You know I think we can all do some work to think about that balance, in our wardrobes. What does our closet look like and whose in it? Who are we supporting in it, you know.""If you have the money to buy Chanel, then you have the money to buy everybody, so let us be mindful, I think would be my advice," said Obama. What seemed to be a normal statement about being inclusive of brands of colour was taken out of context in the form of a cleverly-edited clip that instantly went viral across social media platforms. It had numerous netizens enraged at Obama for seemingly advising them to avoid buying white-owned brands. "Tell me the Obamas were not the problem with racism in this country!!" wrote a person on X. "They just give this woman a pass to be racist" added another. "Imagine if Melania said to be mindful buying from Black designers…..hypocrites" one pointed out. "So we should only buy from companies owned and run by people of our own ethnicity. Thank goodness most of us are mixed if you look at genetics." one said. In an October 2025 exclusive with PEOPLE, Obama revealed why she purposefully avoided wearing white as the first lady. During the conversation she explained how avoiding the light hue was actually more of a practical reason rather than personal. "I rarely wore white," she said, explaining, "I didn't want my clothes to stop me from engaging people. So my clothes had to be welcoming. They had to invite people in. I had to be able to give a hug. I couldn't worry about whether somebody got makeup on something."In the viral episode, Obama shared how she tried to support the part of the fashion industry that included designers of colour, as they are troubled by factors such as inventory, revenue, size and more to be able to reach mainstream fashion shelves. Her advice was more about being mindful of equality in representation, even through fashion, rather than avoiding brands of any particular kind.