Smug Narcissism From Michelle Obama and Gayle King as Cluelessness Continues, with Maureen Callahan

What is discussed, and when

1. 0:00 – 3:00: 57th and 11th, Gail Earl, Khloe Kardashian, Michelle Obama
2. 3:00 – 6:00: coffee table book, Diana Ross, first ladies, Foxy Brown
3. 6:00 – 9:00: Becoming, braids, Indian women, Joan Kennedy
4. 9:00 – 12:00: Grammys, Jay-Z, Michelle Obama, Oscars
5. 12:00 – 14:40: Birch Gold Group, braids

Notable quotes from "Smug Narcissism From Michelle Obama and Gayle King as Cluelessness Continues, with Maureen Callahan"

• Oprah and Gail, they were at the Kardashian event because of course right?

  about Khloe Kardashian · at 0:00

• Ask the question even though they're going to like the Bezos Sanchez wedding in Venice and like there is an image like we couldn't run it but like there's a photo you can find…

  about Venice · at 1:01

• Narcissistic people in the news this week. Amazingly, that prize must go to Michelle Obama, who has been everywhere with this tour of her ridiculous book trying to promote this ridiculous book.

  about Michelle Obama · at 2:46

• She's, so, out, of, her, mind., Naomi Campbell, Tyra Banks had like one of the biggest competitive reality shows going based on how to be a top model.

  about Naomi Campbell · at 3:59

• I'll never display it in my home you know? I just I just it's and I love a good coffee table book. Oh, my favorite thing is she says she gave this interview to the New York…

  about coffee table book · at 5:17

• She's so, by the way, on fire about like black women representing and she's in full flower in her braids. Where are the braids on this media tour? Why are we styled like a white woman's hair on this media tour?

  about braids · at 6:22

• In a morbid way. I think the only thing it's, there, it's it's, a, commonality, of Megan Markle for lack of anything really substantial going on inside any real talent to offer…

  about Megan Markle · at 7:32

• Making commercials, starring in them, TV shows, radio, everything. All over the Grammys, all over the Oscars, all over the Emmys. she doesn't want to accept that we've made…

  about Grammys · at 9:37

Who and what is mentioned in this episode?

People

• Michelle Obama — Person · 4 mentions · first at 2:50
• Khloe Kardashian — Person · 1 mention · first at 0:02
• Ryan Steman — Person · 1 mention · first at 0:31
  Well,, I, have, many, thoughts., Number, one, we at the nerve sent an email directly to Steman on Monday asking if he was still alive and if so to please tell us where he is…
• Gail Earl — Person · 1 mention · first at 2:33
  Blowing in her face so you couldn't say anything to her face. It's amazing. I love Gail King. She gives so much.
• Karine Jean Pierre — Person · 1 mention · first at 3:04
  And we have a few latest sound bites of her. as just very much like Karine Jean Pierre, she's obsessed with race. This is actually from her podcast, not her book tour, but here's here's a couple samples of what she's been saying these days.
• Naomi Campbell — Person · 1 mention · first at 3:59
• Whitney Houston — Person · 1 mention · first at 4:09
  Whitney, Houston, was, one, of the, biggest stars of all time and, one, of, the, most, beautiful., She started the bodyguard, remember with Kevin Cosner. It was like stunning. It.
• Diana Ross — Person · 1 mention · first at 4:24
  Let's, go, back, to, Diana, Ross., Let's, go back to who starred as Foxy Brown.
• Zoe Kravitz — Person · 1 mention · first at 4:31
  How, about, Zoe, Kravitz?, stunner, and a huge Bonet,, her, mother,, Lenny., Like,, stop.
• Joan Kennedy — Person · 1 mention · first at 6:05
  Yeah., And, actually, Joan, Kennedy, let this slip when she was first in the family. She wasn't like fully media trained. Yeah.
• Megan Markle — Person · 1 mention · first at 7:38
• Jay-Z — Person · 1 mention · first at 9:48
  The Emmys. she doesn't want to accept that we've made progress on this front. No. Beyonce, Jay-Z, Blackish, one of the biggest shows of the past 20 years., Abbott, Elementary…
• Viola Davis — Person · 1 mention · first at 9:58
  Biggest, shows., Scandal,, one, of the biggest shows. There was a show that was Viola Davis, I forget the name of it. It was like Anatomy of a Murder or something,, but, one…
• Halle Berry — Person · 1 mention
• Kevin Costner — Person · 1 mention
• Lenny Kravitz — Person · 1 mention
• Lisa Bonet — Person · 1 mention
• Pam Grier — Person · 1 mention

Books & papers

• The Bodyguard — Book · 1 mention · first at 4:14
  Stars of all time and, one, of, the, most, beautiful., She started the bodyguard, remember with Kevin Cosner. It was like stunning. It was like an interracial romance for the 80s.
• Foxy Brown — Book · 1 mention · first at 4:26
  Let's, go, back, to, Diana, Ross., Let's, go back to who starred as Foxy Brown.
• Becoming — Book · 1 mention · first at 8:05
  I, know., It's, exactly, right., Becoming.

Companies & orgs

• CBS — Company · 2 mentions
• the nerve — Company · 1 mention · first at 0:29
  Well,, I, have, many, thoughts., Number, one, we at the nerve sent an email directly to Steman on Monday asking if he was still alive and if so to please tell us where he is and the state of his health. We've heard nothing. So.
• New York Times — Company · 1 mention · first at 5:26
  Love a good coffee table book. Oh, my favorite thing is she says she gave this interview to the New York Times in which the journalist I believe is also a black woman went…
• The Jeffersons — Company · 1 mention · first at 10:35
  We, lived, for, the, Jeffersons, in, my, house.
• The Cosby Show — Company · 1 mention · first at 10:38
  Love that Sanford The Cosby Show. Hello.
• TMZ — Company · 1 mention

Concepts & topics

• braids — Concept · 2 mentions · first at 6:27
• America's Next Top Model — Concept · 2 mentions
• coffee table book — Concept · 1 mention · first at 5:23
• first ladies — Concept · 1 mention · first at 5:35
  Also a black woman went along with her contention that there never before in the 54 first ladies who came before her did a woman have such difficult hair to style. Now, I will…
• Indian women — Concept · 1 mention · first at 7:05
  Got to iron it if you want it to look soft and smooth and silky. A lot of Indian women have the same problem. It's a gift in my view to have that super thick hair, but they may…
• victimhood — Concept · 1 mention · first at 7:45
  Megan Markle for lack of anything really substantial going on inside any real talent to offer the world victimhood stands in for making one feel special and apart and so this…
• Grammys — Concept · 1 mention · first at 9:41
• Oscars — Concept · 1 mention · first at 9:41
  Making commercials, starring in them, TV shows, radio, everything. All over the Grammys, all over the Oscars, all over the Emmys. she doesn't want to accept that we've made…
• Bezos Sanchez wedding — Concept · 1 mention
• Emmys — Concept · 1 mention
• white women's hair — Concept · 1 mention

Places & events

• Venice — Place · 1 mention · first at 1:04
• 57th and 11th — Place · 1 mention · first at 2:19
  It's up in May the contract and Gail's out there and that windb blown you know how like 57th and 11th it's just like this wind corridor the, wigs, going, everywhere, and, she's…

Sponsors

• Birch Gold Group — Sponsor · 1 mention · first at 13:15
  It's, the, one, time, of, year, that, Birch Gold Group gives away free gold with every qualifying purchase. That's right.

Full transcript with timestamps

0:00 Oprah and Gail, they were at the Kardashian event because of course right? And, honestly,, if, Gail, would, spend, a little bit more time reading up on the news

0:10 and, trying, to, be, a, more, fair, and interesting anchor I, think, her, neck, might, not, be, on, the chopping block over at CBS. But she would never do that because she lives to be Oprah's arm candy and to rub elbows with people like this. Your thoughts?

0:27 Well,, I, have, many, thoughts., Number, one, we at the nerve sent an email uh directly to Steman on Monday asking if he was still alive and if so to please tell us where he is and the state of his health. We've heard nothing. So

0:40 maybe, that's, your, answer. We're, keeping, a, countdown, because, my, my second question is Gail and Oprah, what' you do with the body? Where is it? Uh this this would be this would be like my ideal law and order episode, you know like these like like a media titan and like her beta platonic friend who they may or may not be more but nobody can ask the question even though they're going to like the Bezos Sanchez Sanchez wedding in Venice and like there is an image like we couldn't run it but like there's a photo you can find if you Google it. Oprah is sitting on a on a picnic table, which is already gross.

1:14 And she's got her foot up on the picnic table and Gail's bent over tying her shoelace.

1:20 Yes,, I, remember, that., Yeah., Her, beta platonic friend. That's just not what you want to be described as by anybody.

1:26 No., And, then, so, she, goes, and, does, stuff like this, which is 1% stuff. She is the host of a morning show ostensibly

1:33 right? What average American wants to see Gail swaning around with the Illuminati and then beaming into their their living rooms pretending like none of it happened. But yet Oprah is is coming in every month or something shilling her favorite things or her book of the month or whatever.

1:52 Oprah, is, to, the, CBS, morning, show, what Hoda now is to the NBC morning show.

1:56 Yes. Right., Like, I, just, come, by, to, shelllock my gear. Yeah., I, got, an, app., I, got, a, motivational thing like make room for me. Um, and my favorite thing about Gail was this like impromptu presser she did with TMZ after it was announced CBS announced like we're pro we're terminating this when it's up in May the contract and uh Gail's out there and that windb blown you know how like 57th and 11th it's just like this wind corridor

2:23 the, wigs, going, everywhere, and, she's going like if they're going to fire me say it to my face but the wig's like blowing in her face so you couldn't say anything to her face. It's amazing. I love Gail King. She gives so much.

2:35 Well,, yes., Um,, and, look,, she's, hasn't learned a thing from her space walk. Um so that's Gail.

2:42 Now,, these, are, not, the, most, maniacal, narcissistic people in the news this week. Amazingly, that prize must go to Michelle Obama, who has been everywhere with this tour of her ridiculous book trying to promote this ridiculous book. And we have a few latest sound bites of her. Um, as you know, just very much like uh Karine Jean Pierre, she's obsessed with race. This is actually from her podcast, not not her uh book tour, but here's here's a couple samples of what she's been saying these days about black women sought 17.

3:17 And, we, have, to, start, educating, people about all kinds of beauty. Yes., Um,, and, our, beauty, is, so, powerful and so unique, um, that it is that it is worthy of the conversation and it's worthy of demanding the respect that we're owed for who we are and what we offered to the world.

3:39 Absolutely. Oh, my, god., It's, not, 1938. Like we, must, accept, that, there, are, all, kinds of beauty, Moren, because we racist whiteies don't accept that any black person could be beautiful. She's so bigoted against white people.

3:59 She's, so, out, of, her, mind., Like, uh, Naomi Campbell, Tyra Banks had like one of the biggest competitive reality shows going based on how to be a top model.

4:09 Whitney, Houston, was, one, of the, biggest stars of all time and, one, of, the, most, beautiful., She started the bodyguard, remember with Kevin Cosner. It was like stunning. It was like an interracial romance for the 80s.

4:20 Holly, Berry, very, thirsty, for, attention, now,, but very, very beautiful. Let's, go, back, to, Diana, Ross., Let's, go back to um who starred as Foxy Brown.

4:29 I, forget, her, name. How, about, Zoe, Kravitz?, Like, stunner, and a huge Bonet,, her, mother,, Lenny., Like,, stop. Just stop.

4:39 You, suggest, we, can't, accept, them, as beautiful because they're black. Right., right?, You, know,, and, and Michelle's my favorite thing about Michelle. So, first of all, she's talking primarily to white women who she wants to buy this book. So, she's saying to white women, you're racist. You have a limited concept of beauty. Spend $59 as I did because I have to see the book and they're never going to send it to me for free on my book. This book is an ode to the awesomeness that is Michelle Obama.

5:07 What's, in, it?, Is, it, just, page, after, page of her? of her and her looks and her beauty and how she got to look this way. And it's just it's it's I I I'll never display it in my home you know? I just I I just it's and I love a good coffee table book. Oh, my favorite thing is she says um she gave this interview to the New York Times in which uh the journalist I believe is also a black woman went along with her contention that there never before in the 54 uh first ladies who came before her uh did a woman have such difficult hair to style. Now, I will take umbrage because I I consider myself something of an authority on Jackie Onasses and her hair was so difficult to tame and so kinky and it really was like the like her hair stylists were like, "You really do have like the texture and hair of like what we would consider black hair."

6:01 And she wore wigs for the bulk of her time as first lady. Oh,, no, way. Yeah., And, like, actually, Joan, Kennedy, let this slip when she was first in the family. She wasn't like fully media trained. Yeah.

6:11 She's, like,, "Oh,, yeah., Jackie, wears, wigs all the time." And like Jackie got upset because like her cover was blown.

6:16 I, didn't, know, that. Yeah., So, Michelle, Obama, can, take, a, seat. The entire country adored her. And if she's so, by the way, on fire about like black women representing and she's in full flower in her braids. Where are the braids on this media tour? Why are we styled like a white woman's hair on this media tour?

6:34 Yes., The, thing, about, the, hair, is, really annoying because it it she thinks it's only a black thing. only only black women spend hours on their hair whatever doing to their hair.

6:43 That's, not, true., That's, a, woman, thing. It's not a black thing. And by the way

6:48 some, of, us, have, toddler, hair, that, and, so it takes us a long time for that reason.

6:52 Some, of, us, um, like, red, heads,, a, lot, of red heads who have curly hair have exactly the same issue that a black woman has, like very coarse and you've got to iron it if you want it to look soft and smooth and silky. A lot of Indian women have the same problem. It's a gift in my view to have that super thick hair, but they may not consider it that way. We all have an issue. You do not see everyone running around all the time

7:16 bitching, about, it, and, asking, for, people to see us as like an oppressed group because it takes us a long time to do our hair. Moren so this is my theory. I spend more time thinking about this woman than is healthy, I think. But she fascinates me in a morbid way. I think the only thing it's, there, it's it's, a, commonality, of Megan Markle for lack of anything really substantial going on inside any real talent to offer the world uh victimhood stands in for making one feel special and apart and so this differentiates me and now like I must have a platform you I must make you come to me and understand and again it's a it's a hole that will never be filled what is this our third book about how awesome she is.

8:05 I, know., It's, exactly, right., Becoming. And now it's some you you I think it's 304 pages, right? Something ridiculous.

8:12 This, book. Yeah., I, haven't, finished, it, yet. Well,, it's, long., Um, and, here's, a, little bit more. Uh cuz she she had more to say about white women. Sad 18.

8:21 It's, just, amazing, how, we, don't, see, a, lot of inspiration for our type of hair on television. And I think that that was a big part of that part of um what kind of

8:36 got, me, off, on, the, wrong, track, in, terms of loving my hair was, because, when, we, were, growing, up, we had no images. There were no images um of of black black characters, let alone black children. And I think that a lot of, women, don't, women women,, white, women don't understand how problematic it is for young black girls not to see themselves in popular culture and uh not to pay give respect and to show examples of our beauty.

9:10 Oh, my, god,, black, people, are, literally everywhere. They are so outpacing their number in the actual population. It's absurd. You cannot turn on the television without being bombarded with commercials that have only black people in them. You can never have only Yeah. You can never have only whites in them. What is she saying? They don't have She is talking like we are 50 years ago. It's 2025, almost 26. Black people are making movies, starring in movies making commercials, starring in them, TV shows, radio, everything. All over the Grammys, all over the Oscars, all over the Emmys. Like, she doesn't want to accept that we've made progress on this front. No. Beyonce, Jay-Z, Blackish, one of the biggest shows of the past 20 years., Abbott, Elementary,, one, of the biggest, shows., Scandal,, one, of the biggest shows. There was a show that was Viola Davis, I forget the name of it. It was like Anatomy of a Murder or

10:01 something,, but, one, of the, ve, of, the, most arresting um episodes that went beyond its place in just network television and became a cultural thing. There was a scene where a very close-up on Viola Davis where she was removing all of her makeup and then she removed her wig and you saw like, you know, a black woman without all the artifice and it but it also just stands for womanhood as well without without all the artifice.

10:21 So,, she's, like, teleporting, in, from, again like another century. I don't know what she's talking about. It's so regressive.

10:28 Well,, I, grew, up, when, she, grew, up., Like she's a little older than I am, but like there were plenty of black families on television back then. You know, we had

10:34 Oh, my, god., Good, times. We, lived, for, the, Jeffersons, in, my, house. love that Sanford The Cosby Show. Hello. We were all raised on the Cosby Show. Like, what is she Why is she pretending truly? Like I said, it's 1938. We have no television. We have no representation. We have no blacks anywhere doing anything of note and all of society isn't appreciating how hard it is for little girls like Michelle Obama because of what you said. She needs to feel victimized. And you know you get these people across from her, it could that was her podcast, but any of these interviewers, they're never going to do anything other than bend the knee to Michelle Obama. Her talking about her oppression as a black woman, they're like, "Yes, I need it more." You right.

11:15 It's like estrogen or what? What's the word? I'm looking endorphins. Maybe estrogen,, too., Um,, all right., We're going to get another one. Hold on. Yes. Okay. This is an oldie but a goodie. We never got to this the other day. She's still on the air. This is her going on and on about the issue to ABC in your favorite outfit, SAT 19.

11:35 That, was, intentional, but, it, was, wear, hair, this, way., Having me, the former first lady, a black woman, show up in the world in her natural hair, even if I didn't do it for those eight years, I understood the importance of doing it at some point and signaling a message to young girls and to professionals out there.

11:59 Stay, about, hair., You, know,, we're, just trying to get to work and do it fast and efficiently. Don't tell a black woman how to wear her hair. How I wear my hair should be my choice and it shouldn't be illegal. It shouldn't be something that can't be done if you were part of the military. Okay. So, it's illegal now. And by the way, who was telling her like you're the first lady of the you can wear your hair however the you want. If you were too cowardly to wear it the way you wanted, that's a you problem. So, my favorite, again, proof to my theory that her team hates her. She wears her hair, as you said, however the she, wants., She, wears, it, in, pom, poms on top of her head. What you call the Stegosaurus, like the Stegosaurus, you know, it's like it's not it's it's it it's not a good look. It doesn't look good for her. And again, if it's that consequential as the as, by the way, the first black

12:54 lady that this country cheered for. Everybody was rooting for you. What's that like? What's that famous meme? Like we were It's from America's Top Models Tyra Banks, going we were all rooting for, you., Um,, is, is, why, why why, doesn't she have braids in her effing official White House portrait? Yes, do it there.

13:10 And, why, isn't, she, wearing, them, for, her big tour where she wants to talk about braids at every stop?

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Questions about this episode

What is discussed in "Smug Narcissism From Michelle Obama and Gayle King as Cluelessness Continues, with Maureen Callahan"?

In order: 0:00 57th and 11th, Gail Earl, Khloe Kardashian, Michelle Obama; 3:00 coffee table book, Diana Ross, first ladies, Foxy Brown; 6:00 Becoming, braids, Indian women, Joan Kennedy; 9:00 Grammys, Jay-Z, Michelle Obama, Oscars; 12:00 Birch Gold Group, braids.

What is mentioned in this Megyn Kelly episode?

41 people, works and ideas are mentioned, including Michelle Obama, braids, America's Next Top Model, CBS, Khloe Kardashian, the nerve. Each one on this page links to its own page with every episode that mentions it.

How long is "Smug Narcissism From Michelle Obama and Gayle King as Cluelessness Continues, with Maureen Callahan"?

The episode runs 15 min; the transcript is about 2,750 words in 45 timestamped sections.

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