Sage Steele tells Michelle Obama to 'shut up' about Black women's hair

Black Enterprise ^ | 2/2/2026 | Jeroslyn JoVonn

[simpson96]

Television personality Sage Steele is back in the hot seat after telling former first lady Michelle Obama to “shut up” about Black women’s hair struggles.

The former ESPN anchor addressed the former first lady on her Actual Friends podcast, criticizing remarks Michelle Obama made in November about Black women's hair and the pressure many feel to straighten it due to Eurocentric beauty standards.

Why This Unique Veteran Hat is Becoming a Favorite Among Military Families Why This Unique Veteran Hat is Becoming a Favorite Among Military Families YaYuge-Hat · Sponsored call to action icon more "Shut up! I've lost all respect for this woman because of how she's choosing to behave with that title of former first lady. It's funny and it's pathetic,” Steele said in a clip shared online.

“Because what you’re doing, you’re sitting there b-tching about white people’s standards to force you to make it straight,” she added. “And what are you doing, getting paid $100,000+ per speech, straightening your damn hair?”

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TOPICS: Chit/Chat
KEYWORDS: bigmike; hair; obama

[shelterguy]

Big Mike must think we care about what he says.

[MtnClimber]

Did he B-Slap her? Is it just my wishful thinking?

[lee martell]

Say it again Sage. Maybe she didn’t hear you the first time.
Say it loud and clear, right in her ear.
We, the public are sick and tired of hearing this very wealthy, very famous black woman complaining all the time.

“How much do I hate my life?
Let me count the ways ....”

[Secret Agent Man]

They should all shut up about it. Many women want to wear their hair that way.

If they dont shut up we should just start calling it cultural appropriation and demand they all go their natural frizzy.

[ConservaTexan]

Mike’s hair is the only straight thing about that marriage.

[Governor Dinwiddie]

Black women traditionally tie their hair up in a "mammy scarf". Negro women in Africa,
the Caribbean and rural America use the "mammy scarf" to tame their hair and make a fashion
statement.

[griswold3]

Hey, Michelle, do you. You’re insulting blacks by telling them they should want to appeal to whites. Lose the slave mentality. It’s past time

[fidelis]

If they dont shut up we should just start calling it cultural appropriation and demand they all go their natural frizzy.

Maybe it's my generation, but I actually think a well tended Afro looks the best on most black women. Straight hair looks fake and dreads look dirty, IMHO.

[know.your.why]

Two fundamental human laws:

1)Never touch a man's hat.
2)Never criticize women's hair styles.

[GOPJ]

"Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery"

The former first lady needs to understand white women spend a lot of time trying to imitate the 'look' of 24 year old women. It's called 'makeup' and later called plastic surgery. Michelle Obama needs to relax - it's OK to imitate and it's OK to leave her hair as it is and everything in between. It's even OK to talk about it... sometimes. Well, maybe not as much as she talks about it. A little less would be nice.

[TigersEye]

And while she’s shutting her pie hole about that she can STFU about any and everything else.

[God luvs America]

1- Sage Steele is REALLY cute...
2- Sage Steele has great hair, which isn’t straight...
3- Sage Steele is MAGA....

Glad she is on our side...

[reasonisfaith]

You mean he.

[Disambiguator]

I want to hear more about the YaYuge hat.

[No name given]

In fact, Big Mike needs to shut up in general.

[No name given]

True.

[Flag_This]

"Let me explain something to white people. Our hair comes out of our heads naturally in a curly pattern. So, when we're straightening it to follow your beauty standards, we are trapped by the straightness,” Obama said at the time.

Isn't she really just admitting she's too spineless, and lacking in basic integrity, to oppose fashion trends she doesn't agree with?

[GOPJ]

Maybe it's my generation, but I actually think a well tended Afro looks the best on most black women. Straight hair looks fake and dreads look dirty, IMHO.

It is a good look - and very hard for white women to imitate... then again wearing a 'white woman wig' works too. It's not whites who are pushing this insanity - it's Madison Avenue Ad agencies. They write ads that demean white young men and black women. Watch a few ads and you'll see the pattern.

[Sarah Barracuda]

Sage is AWESOME absolutely LOVE her she is always SPOT ON!