Michelle Obama's new podcast isn't performing very well, in a sign that her star power could be fading.
Weeks after she launched the new project, the podcast ranks 34th on Spotify and 19th on Apple, according to reports. It's a shocking reversal that suggests the Obama brand is not what it used to be.
At the apex of her cultural influence, Michelle Obama sold a best-selling memoir and was even seen as a potential presidential candidate, although she has sworn off such ambitions.
The Obama family's future has been clouded by the Democratic party's clobbering at the hands of President Trump, who won a historic non-consecutive second term in November. Trump's decision to go on various podcasts popular with young people, particularly Joe Rogan's top-rated show, has been credited as a factor in his success.
Meanwhile, the Obamas' cultural legacy appears more uncertain than ever, as Democrats wander the political wilderness, and the Obamas continue to chronicle their post-presidential lives in vapid social media posts.
While the podcast market is saturated with content creators, someone as famous as Michelle Obama should have no problem getting listeners. Still, the Spotify charts rank Obama's podcast, IMO, well below the top podcasters like Joe Rogan, Amy Poehler, Theo Von, and Tucker Carlson.
Michelle Obama's Spotify podcast debuted with 335,000 views, but public interest subsequently dipped, Mediaite reported. Her most recent YouTube upload of the show has less than 100,000 views.
Meanwhile, the Obamas have been dogged by divorce rumors after Michelle missed Jimmy Carter's funeral and Trump's second inauguration.
After weeks of dodging the issue, Obama addressed the speculation in a podcast interview Wednesday with actress Sophia Bush. Obama, an outspoken feminist, blasted the rampant speculation of divorce as sexist.
"When I say no, for the most part people are like, I get it. And that's the thing we as women struggle with, is disappointing people. So much so that this year, people couldn't fathom that I was making a choice for myself, that they had to assume my husband and I were divorcing," she said.
The comments came just days after her husband, hitting the college speaking circuit, admitted that his marriage needed some work after his eight years in the White House.
"So I have been trying to dig myself out of that hole by doing occasionally fun things," the former president added.
