Michelle Obama Jealous of Oprah? New Book's Claim Deemed 'Nonsense'

By Sami K. Martin, Christian Post Reporter Monday, May 14, 2012

Is First Lady Michelle Obama jealous of icon Oprah? That's the new allegation made by author Edward Klein in his new book "The Amateur." Critics, however, state that Klein's book is completely false and have described it as "nonsense."

"During the early weeks of the presidential transition, as Obama stitched together his new White House team, he appeared to embrace Oprah as one of his trusted advisers," Klein alleges. "When she phoned, he dropped everything and took her call. Of all of Obama's unofficial White House advisers, Oprah had unparalleled access, input, influence, and power."

Yet a rift soon grew between the Obamas and Oprah, which Klein describes as stemming from Michelle's advisers, Valerie Jarrett and Desiree Rogers.

"Valerie set about turning Michelle against Oprah. Oprah was too close to the president … Valerie advised Michelle to 'distance herself' from Oprah and cut her out of the White House inner circle," he wrote.

Soon Michelle was turned and "as far as [she] was concerned, Oprah's billions and her elite lifestyle disqualified her as an adviser to Barack," Klein noted.

Neither one of the Obamas nor Oprah have spoken publicly about the relationship and the possible strain because of Michelle's supposed jealousy. According to at least one spokesman from the White House, "nobody in their right mind would believe the nonsense in this one," Yahoo! News reported.

The Obama family has come under much scrutiny by authors, especially after the book "The Obamas" by Jodi Kantor. Her book offered revelations about the relationship between Michelle and Barack, as well as relationships between the Obamas and those in the White House.

"Michelle and Rahm Emanuel had almost no bond," Kantor wrote. "Their relationship was distant and awkward from the beginning. She had been skeptical of him when he was selected, and now he returned the favor. Now Emanuel was chief of staff, a position that almost never included an easy relationship with the first lady. They were the president's two spouses, in a sense, one public and official and one private an informal."

Is there some truth to these stories that reflect Michelle Obama's jealousy over sharing her husband with the public? Or is it simply that a wife wants to have a personal relationship with her husband? It would appear that First Lady Michelle is not afraid to remind people that Barack, while President, is first and foremost her husband.

"There's not really anything new in this book," wrote Huffington Post reader LovelyGirl. "Michelle Obama is the lioness of the household. That's great. She speaks her mind and tells her man what she thinks. That's why he's married to her."