Big Mike

About

Big Mike is a nickname for American lawyer, former First Lady and writer Michelle Obama (wife of former President Barack Obama) that references the conspiracy theory of Michelle Obama secretly being a man. While it's unclear who initially created the nickname, it has been heavily used since as early as October 2020 by Republicans and critics of the former First Lady in various memes, jokes and posts on social media platforms like X / Twitter, Reddit and Facebook, among others. Many of the posts using the nickname are often criticized as having transphobic and racist connotations, which typically claim Michelle Obama is a transgender woman by showing old photos of her alongside Barack Obama or editing images of her to add masculine features.

Origin

The "Big Mike" nickname was created in the years following rumors spread by American far-right radio show host and conspiracy theorist Alex Jones, who claimed^[1] that Michelle Obama was transgender in 2016 in an episode of his podcast Infowars.

On May 21st, 2016, YouTuber SecularTalk posted a clip showing Jones explaining his conspiracy theory, alleging the former First Lady had a penis based on her physical features. The video (seen below) amassed more than 495,000 views and 5,600 likes in eight years.

The earliest known usage of "Big Mike" in a meme referencing the former First Lady was posted on October 12th, 2020, by an unknown Imgflip^[2] user, who added a text overlay on top of an old picture of Michelle and Barack Obama, writing, "Damn, Mike! I sure hope the hormone treatments arrive soon!" (seen below)

Spread

Over the 2020s the "Big Mike" nickname was largely popularized among far-right and conservative netizens, being often used to attack Michelle Obama or make fun of her body, many making references to the Michelle Obama is a man conspiracy theory.

For instance, in 2023, podcast presenter and comedian Joe Rogan talked about the Big Mike memes during an episode of The Joe Rogan Experience. The clip was uploaded to YouTube^[3] by the channel Joe Bros on September 5th, 2023, who wrote in the video description, "the viral sensation surrounding the 'Big Mike' conspiracy theory featuring Michelle Obama!" The video (seen below) amassed roughly 859,000 views and 13,000 likes in a year.

On August 20th, 2024, X^[4] user @GuntherEagleman called Michelle Obama "Big Mike" in a tweet about her speech at the 2024 Democratic National Convention. The post (seen below) amassed over 796,000 views and 10,000 likes in a day.

Various Examples

Search Interest

External References