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UFC fighter Josh Hokit made a false, conspiratorial claim about former first lady Michelle Obama at a White House event.The Obamas have faced racist and derogatory attacks for years, including from public officials and online memes.It's been more than 9 years since Michelle Obama left office. She still can't escape the abuse.The latest attack on Obama, who made history as the first African American woman to serve as first lady, came at the White House Sunday at an event hosted by President Donald Trump to mark America’s 250th birthday.“And lastly — Michelle Obama is a man! Am I right, America?” UFC fighter Josh Hokit yelled during his post-bout interview with Joe Rogan. The podcaster, who hosted the in-ring interviews, did not challenge Hokit's false claim, which was born from a far-right conspiracy theory and has been debunked many times.A representative for the Obamas did not return a request for comment Monday.Dana White, CEO of UFC, has responded to Hokit's remark. In a text to TIME magazine, he said, “I understand that the Obama’s [sic] are public figures but I’m completely against saying nasty and false things about people’s families."White has been a defender of free speech, but added, "I hate that kind of nonsense.” Hokit, in January, similarly targeted Brittney Griner, the WNBA star.White has never publicly disciplined fighters for the use of slurs or derogatory language, meaning Hokit is unlikely to receive any punishment this time.How Michelle Obama has responded to criticismThe Obamas have long faced racist tropes, and there has been a constant barrage of online abuse against Michelle.The attacks have been at all levels, from a mayor in small city in Washington in 2015 and a West Virginia county employee in 2019, all the way to the current resident of the White House: Earlier this year, President Trump shared an AI-generated meme to TruthSocial depicting the Obamas as apes in the jungle. The White House initially defended the post before removing it, with a White House official telling USA TODAY at the time that it was "erroneously" shared by a staff member.Michelle has also faced ongoing comments on her appearance — a 2011 cartoon depicted her as overweight and bingeing on hamburgers and more recently, she has been accused of taking Ozempic to lose weight."When they go low, we go high," Obama famously said in 2016 during the Democratic National Convention, a sign she was looking to meet everything from insults to conspiracy theories with a dignified approach — but that didn't mean she was unphazed by the pointed attacks.“The shards that cut me the deepest were the ones that intended to cut,” she said in 2017, before admitting it was difficult to know that "after eight years of working really hard for this country, there are still people who won’t see me for what I am because of my skin color.”In 2022, Obama shared that while she wanted to wear her hair in braids during her tenure she chose not to because Americans were "not ready." She also admitted that her time as first lady greatly influenced her fashion and style choices.Since leaving her life in the White House, Obama says she is finding confidence and freedom. (Most memorably in the shape of a pair of Balenciaga sequin thigh-high boots.)All first ladies have faced criticism and unrelenting scrutiny during their time in the role. There are accusations the White House uses a body double for the current First Lady, Melania Trump. Then there came the "free Melania" viral meme, insinuating the first lady is trapped in an unhappy marriage.For most first ladies the barrage softens or dissipates considerably after their husband leaves his tenure as commander in chief.Despite the broadsides, Obama maintains a considerably strong approval rating — 66% of all voters, and 87% among Democrats, according to Marist polling. Much higher than Trump's latest approval rating of 39%.With reporting by Josh Peter.
