Michelle Obama Reveals Strategy for Handling ‘Rumors,’ ‘Gossip’

Michelle Obama revealed Thursday how she and her husband have learned to deal with rumors and gossip—the kind of thing that has been driving speculation lately about the couple’s marriage.

During a live taping of her podcast, IMO with Michelle Obama and Craig Robinson, at the SXSW conference and festival, the former first lady said much of their strategy revolved around keeping social media at a distance.

“People always ask me and Barack, how did we stay hopeful in not just the eight years that we were in the White House, but beyond?” Obama told her older brother Robinson, according to People.

“Because, let me tell you, there was a lot of negative energy flipping our way—a lot of rumors, a lot of gossip, a lot of, you know, my husband wasn’t born in this country… we weren’t patriotic, he didn’t get into Harvard.”

The racist birther lie continues to be spread by some far-right politicians.

“But through it all, what kept us sane—and we tried to instill this in our daughters—is, you cannot live through social media," Obama explained. “Don’t let that negative energy enter into your space. These are people who don’t know you. A lot of this stuff is made up, and it does not feed you.”

“That doesn’t mean you don’t stay informed. but staying informed has nothing to do with the comment section. It has everything to do with the content of the stories that you take in,” she continued, adding later that “we have to get off the phone.”

Despite Obama’s known aversion to the current political environment in Washington, D.C., rumors flew after her husband made a solo appearance at Donald Trump’s inauguration in January.

The same occurred after she didn’t attend former President Jimmy Carter’s funeral earlier that month, even though a spokesperson said she had a scheduling conflict.