Patriot Brief
- What Happened: Michelle Obama suggested consumers should intentionally prioritize buying from designers of color.
- Why It Matters: Critics argue the remarks promote race based purchasing and exclusion of white owned brands.
- Bottom Line: The comments reignited backlash over identity driven consumer activism.
Former first lady Michelle Obama is under fire after openly encouraging consumers to steer their money away from white owned brands and toward designers of color.
During a fashion roundtable released Sunday, Obama explained how she makes purchasing decisions. “If I hear of someone… whose fashion that I like and I know that they’re a person of color, I try to make it a point,” she said. The implication was clear. Race matters when she shops.
Obama went further, urging Americans to audit their closets through a racial lens. “What does our closet look like and who’s in it? Who are we supporting in it?” she asked, framing consumer choice as a moral exercise tied to identity.
She also dismissed price as an excuse for not following that approach. “If you have the money to buy Chanel, then you have the money to buy everybody,” Obama said, suggesting shoppers should redirect spending based on race rather than preference, quality, or value.
The comments quickly sparked backlash online. Critics say encouraging people to avoid white owned brands while elevating others based on skin color is discriminatory, plain and simple. They argue this flips the definition of fairness on its head and replaces equal treatment with racial sorting.
Obama has long centered race and representation in her public messaging since leaving the White House, and her fashion choices were often praised for highlighting lesser known designers. But critics say this moment crossed a line, moving from personal preference to public pressure.
At a time when Americans are stretched thin and focused on affordability, many see this as another elite lecture that reduces everyday decisions to racial checklists. Telling people who to support or avoid based on skin color is not progress. It is division dressed up as virtue.