Michelle Obama’s ex-boyfriend David Upchurch has revealed that she is actually a man named Michael Robinson and only became “Michelle” after meeting Barack Obama.
This is false. Her former partner Mr Upchurch has always described Mrs Obama as female, and this is an enduring conspiracy theory that circulates about her online.
The false claim that Michelle Obama is “actually a man” has been shared again on social media.
The posts on Facebook claim that Mrs Obama’s ex-boyfriend David Upchurch has “come forward to reveal that ‘she’ is actually a man named Michael Robinson”, and that she became “Michelle” after meeting Barack Obama and “having prospects of becoming First Lady”.
But as we’ve said before, this is a baseless claim that forms part of a series of conspiracy theories about Mrs Obama’s gender.
The same claim was also made in an article in The People’s Voice in January 2024, headlined: “Michelle Obama’s Ex-Boyfriend Confirms ‘She Is Actually a Man Named Michael Robinson’”.
The article cites “official documents obtained from the Illinois State Board of Elections”, and claims they show “Michelle Obama was officially registered to vote as a man from 1994 until 2008”. But this false claim has also been debunked by other fact checkers.
The People’s Voice website (formerly News Punch) has made several other false claims, which Full Fact and other fact checking organisations have written about previously.
While this claim may seem obviously false to many people, as we’ve explained before, we fact check these types of posts because some more casual internet users may believe them.
The post also features a picture of the former First Lady in formal dress when she was younger, which she has herself previously shared online describing it as her prom night photo.
The man pictured is David Upchurch, who was Mrs Obama’s high school prom date.
But Mr Upchurch has always described Mrs Obama as female when recounting his experience growing up with her in interviews and we can find no evidence that he has ever described her as a man.
She has also shared a number of photos of herself as a young girl, and pictures of her throughout her youth were also shared publicly as part of her book, Becoming.
It’s important to consider whether a post you are sharing is genuine before amplifying it on social media. Read our toolkit to help you verify this type of content for yourself.
This article is part of our work fact checking potentially false pictures, videos and stories on Facebook. You can read more about this—and find out how to report Facebook content—here. For the purposes of that scheme, we’ve rated this claim as false because the claim that Mrs Obama is really a man is completely unsubstantiated, and her former partner has always referred to her as female.
Full Fact fights for good, reliable information in the media, online, and in politics.
Bad information ruins lives. It promotes hate, damages people’s health, and hurts democracy. You deserve better.