Michelle Obama’s new podcast with her brother Craig Robinson has failed to meet expectations after it launched with great fanfare in early March.
The new media venture, titled, IMO [In My Opinion] with Michelle Obama and Craig Robinson, follows the sibling duo as they give advice, discuss current events, and interview a variety of special guests.
The podcast is underperforming on the charts, with recent statistics placing it as the 34th most listened to show on Spotify, according to the streamer’s charts.
Her embarrassing podcast ratings come as divorce rumors plague the Obamas – especially after the former president attended the late President Jimmy Carter’s funeral solo and then went to President Donald Trump’s inauguration alone.
As well as the podcast falling off the charts, other shows like The Ezra Klein Show with the New York Times and The Determined Society with Shawn French have been rising.
Meanwhile, the podcast is only ranked 19 on Apple Podcasts, with shows like The Mel Robbins Podcast, Good Hang with Amy Poehler, Not Gonna Lie with Kylie Kelce, and The Joe Rogan Experience outperforming the sibling duo.
Good Hang with Amy Poehler launched on February 10, only a month before IMO and is already ranked second on Apple Podcasts and third on Spotify.
Poehler’s show has also released two less episodes than Obama and is still outperforming on the charts.
Michelle Obama’s new podcast hasn’t generated impressive numbers after the show was met with great fanfare upon release
Her embarrassing podcast ratings come as divorce rumors plague the Obamas – especially after the former president attended the late President Jimmy Carter’s funeral solo (the couple are pictured in 2019 together)
IMO released two episodes on its launch date, the first titled, You Should Start a Podcast with Your Sibling.
The second episode featured executive producer and actress Issa Rae, and was titled, Some Friendships Need to Go.
The sibling duo also had episodes featuring Seth Rogen and his wife Lauren, psychology professor Dr. Laurie Santos, Keke Palmer, and podcaster Jay Shetty.
IMO is produced by Barack and Michelle Obama’s media production, Higher Ground, which was behind films such as the Julia Roberts-led Leave the World Behind and Colman Domingo’s depiction of civil rights icon Bayard Rustin in Rustin.
The production company also produced Michelle’s previous podcast, The Light Podcast, that ended its run last February.
Since the launch of her new venture, Michelle has dropped numerous hints about her marriage – while the former president also noted recently that he is in a ‘deep deficit’ with his wife.
During the podcast’s inaugural episode, Michelle shared she would not be able to ‘get through’ her eight years in the without Robinson.
‘Being married to the president of the United States [is a] thing that that none of us kind of banked on,’ she said.
‘We knew Barack was smart and ambitious, but, you know…’
Michelle never wanted her husband to run for the highest office – and it was her brother who convinced her to support her husband’s political ambitions.
Earlier this month in an interview with Hamilton College’s President Steven Tepper, Barack Obama told a crowd what he had been up to recently.
Obama said he’d mostly been working on the second half of his memoir, but also that he’d been forgetting to have ‘fun’ with his wife Michelle.
‘This is like 50 term papers. I mean, it just goes on forever,’ he said. ‘I’m hoping to get to the finish line on that.’
‘Beyond that, look, I was in a deep deficit with my wife, so I have been trying to dig myself out of that hole by doing occasionally fun things,’ the former Democratic president admitted.
Michelle Obama and her brother Craig attended the SXSW Conference on March 13 to promote their new podcast
Divorce rumors continue to swirl around the couple (pictured in 2018)
Amid the swirling rumors that their marriage is on the rocks, Obama attempted to quash the speculation by posting a loved-up selfie of the couple smiling on Instagram for Valentine’s Day.
‘Thirty-two years together and you still take my breath away. Happy Valentine’s Day, Michelle Obama!’ the Democrat wrote in a social media caption.
It was unclear when the image was taken, but Michelle shared the same selfie on her own account.
She wrote: ‘If there’s one person I can always count on, it’s you, Barack Obama. You’re my rock. Always have been. Always will be. Happy Valentine’s Day, honey!’
Michelle Obama’s YouTube account, where fans can watch the podcast currently has 67,000 subscribers, which pales in comparison to Alex Cooper’s Call Her Daddy podcast with a whopping 1.2 million.
The Joe Rogan Experience has a jaw-dropping 19.6 million subscribers and the Jay Shetty Podcast has 3.91 million.
The statistics come after IMO kicked off with a slow start, with the first episode only clocking in about 50,000 views upon release.
The disappointing numbers come as Democrats strategize to find a, ‘Joe Rogan of the left,’ after podcasts seemed to help Donald Trump appeal to the younger generation during the presidential election.
Obama hosts the show with her brother, Craig Robinson (pictured). The show ranks lower than other recently released podcasts like Amy Poehler’s Good Hang
Michelle Obama’s YouTube account currently has 67,000 subscribers, which pales in comparison to Alex Cooper’s Call Her Daddy podcast with a whopping 1.2 million and Joe Rogan’s channel with 19.6 million
A recent study from Media Matters revealed that conservative podcasts and pundits dominate the alternative media space, with left-leaning shows paling in comparison.
Joe Rogan was the most listened to right-leaning figure, clocking in at 39.9 million followers.
Charlie Kirk, Ben Shapiro, and Jordan Peterson also had substantive followers, all clocking in at over 18 million.
Meanwhile, the top left-leaning online show was hosted by Trevor Noah, with only 21.2 million.
The Young Turks and The Breakfast Club only had about 12 million followers each, paling in comparison to the following of right-leaning figures.
Other prominent Democrats like California Governor Gavin Newsom has also thrown his hat in the ring with a new podcast called This is Gavin Newsom.
The podcast launched on February 26, just a few weeks before IMO, and is ranked 47 on Spotify and 57 on Apple Podcasts.