Michelle Obama‘s new podcast has become embroiled in a trademark war with a British production with the same name.
The former first lady’s podcast with her brother Craig Robinson, titled IMO, premiered on Wednesday.
But the UK-based In My Opinion podcast has since begged her to reconsider the name as they believe the overlap creates ‘unnecessary confusion’ and fear it may ‘drown out’ their ‘hard work’.
Hosted by three friends, Uzoma, DT and Mulinde, the podcast launched in 2020, and registered their UK trademark in 2021.
However, they admitted they’d never registered the trademark in the US as they never believed they’d grow so big that they’d be able to afford it.
In an emotional video posted on Thursday to their TikTok account, where they boast 226,000 followers, the three friends begged their ‘forever first lady’ to ‘spare a thought for three black men trying to make a better place’.
They asked Ms Obama to reconsider changing the name of her new podcast – which has been confirmed to also stand for ‘in my opinion’ – and invited her team to talks to resolve the matter.
‘To our forever First Lady Michelle Obama, we respect everything you’ve done for the culture for the American people, for the cause,’ they said.
The UK-based In My Opinion podcast has begged Michelle Obama to reconsider the name of her new venture
‘Obviously we are aware that you launched your podcast, and we don’t think you did it maliciously but we are three young black boys from London who started a podcast five years ago.
‘Since five years ago we’ve trademarked the name In My Opinion and IMO podcast. And we don’t want our work to be drowned by your celebrity status, do you know what I mean – you’re big, you’re powerful and you’ve got a big machine.
‘We don’t want our hard work to go amiss when your podcast launches. So, we’re asking kindly, please share a thought for us three young black men that are just trying to make a better place.’
Continuing their plea, they added: ‘Our podcast doesn’t talk about misogyny, doesn’t talk about putting down women. We uplift the culture, uplift the community.
‘We really hope you can reconsider the name you’ve chosen for your podcast as to not confuse our listeners and drown out our voice that we’ve worked so hard to build.
‘Please Michelle Obama, we are praying that you will give us a chance, let us talk and let’s see what we can do to resolve this matter.
‘As three young black men that were saying ‘yes we can’ for Barack Obama. We still love you guys.’
In the caption of the video, Uzoma, DT and Mulinde admitted that their trademark is currently only registered in the UK, and not in the US.
The former first lady’s podcast with her brother Craig Robinson, titled IMO, premiered on Wednesday
On Instagram, the UK podcast thanked people for their support and said ‘we do not take it for granted’
Michelle Obama ‘s brand new podcast has drawn low views and subscribers in its first few days
The podcast has been registered in the UK (pictured) – but the group admitted it was not confirmed in the US
Therefore, they confirmed they’re not accusing the former first lady of ‘infringement’ as she is ‘well within her rights’ to the US trademark.
The UK-based podcast releases new episodes every Thursday at 7pm, with guests engaging in real-life stories and discussions.
Recent videos include discussions about International Women’s Day and the importance of communication in relationships.
Michelle Obama‘s brand new podcast has drawn low views and subscribers in its first few days.
According to her YouTube page, she has managed to obtain only 19,000 subscribers on the platform as of Thursday.
As well as the subscriber count her videos have also gathered little views, with her first podcast clocking in the most with just over 50,000 views.
Other podcasts, which have been on the internet for much longer like ‘Call Her Daddy’ has over 1 million subscribers on YouTube, and Joe Rogan‘s ‘The Joe Rogan Experience’ boasts 19.5 million on the site alone.
While other legacy podcasts have of course had longer to gain momentum, some critics have been quick to note that Michelle Obama’s position as former First Lady ought to have created better traction in her launch week.
The UK-based podcast releases new episodes every Thursday at 7pm, with guests engaging in real-life stories and discussions
Initially set up in 2020, they have been growing their brand for the past five years and registered their UK trademark in 2021
The group asked their followers to ‘spam’ Michelle Obama’s comments to take notice of their cause
With her already-celebrity status, successful book deals under her belt, and her powerful position in world politics, Michelle Obama’s numbers so far have shocked some social media users.
One person wrote: ‘I had to go and check to see if these numbers were real. Genuinely astonishing. I could upload a video of me picking my nose and get more views/subs than this.’
Another added: ‘Podcasting isn’t like other forms of media. Star power isn’t why people listen. They listen because they’re either interested or trust the person in the roll. You can’t draw an audience if you have star power. You have to connect with your audience.’
Others gave Michelle the benefit of the doubt: ‘It’s the first 2 episodes. Wait for the word to get out.’
Michelle’s podcast was announced by Higher Ground, the production company founded by the Obamas in 2018.
Guests for the project will include a mix of celebrities such as Tyler Perry, Seth Rogen and Jay Shetty. Writer and actress Issa Rae was the guest for the second episode.
She is hosting the podcast alongside her brother Craig Robinson, with the two offering advice from their own experiences but refrain from talking current affairs.
In their first video they chatted about growing up on the South Side of Chicago, with Robinson also touching on his divorce.
Michelle’s podcast was announced by Higher Ground, the production company founded by the Obamas in 2018. Her and Robinson are seen here on the podcast
Obama’s repeated public appearances without wife Michelle have led to divorce rumors
Robinson has said that the pair will be joined every week by a guest who will add their own spin on the topics the two discuss.
Future listeners will also be able to send in questions for the podcast, according to the show.
In a summary on their Spotify profile, the podcast is described as: ‘ This podcast will leave you laughing, reflecting, and feeling more prepared to tackle life’s challenges.’
Robinson, who is known to enjoy a close relationship with his sister, is the executive director of the National Association of Basketball Coaches which is headquartered in Kansas City, Missouri.
On Wednesday’s show, Michelle said that she wouldn’t have been able to ‘get through’ her eight years in the White House without her ‘big brother’.
‘Being married to the president of the United States [is a] thing that that none of us kind of banked on. We knew Barack was smart and ambitious, but, you know…’ she said.
Michelle, who has long been open about her dislike for politics, also revealed that she never wanted her husband to run for the highest office.
It was her brother, she said, who convinced her to support her husband’s political ambitions.
Michelle and Barack Obama are seen here attending the unveiling of their portraits at the Smithsonian’s National Portrait Gallery in Washington, DC, February 12, 2018
‘You talked me into supporting his run. He was smart enough to know that he needed to come to you and sell you on the idea. Because I was definitely like, no, no way,’ she said.
Michelle also confessed that she was irritated by Obama’s lack of punctuality at the start of their relationship.
‘Barack had to adjust to what on time was… you know, I’ve got this husband who, when it’s time to leave, he’s getting up and going to the bathroom.
‘And I was like, dude, like 3 three o’clock departure means you’ve done all that. ‘It’s like, don’t start looking for your glasses, you know, at the 3:00 departure.
‘He’s improved over 30 years of marriage,’ she said. Robinson, whose first marriage ended in divorce, responded with a joke that the former president, who was born in Hawaii, was ‘on island time.’
Their new venture comes amid ongoing speculation that there’s trouble in the Obamas’ marriage.
The pair have done their best to dampen the rumors, sharing loved-up social media posts and public words of affirmation. But they’ve not been seen together publicly for months.
Last night Michelle live recorded an episode of her podcast IMO at SXSW.
Michelle Obama at Featured Session ‘IMO Live: Michelle Obama, Craig Robinson & Dr. Laurie Santos’ during SXSW Conference & Festivals
Wearing a rust-colored pantsuit, possibly in tribute to the Texas Longhorns, Michelle took the stage at SXSW with her big brother Thursday.
‘This is our first live show,’ Michelle announced to the crowd of about 2,500.
The 61-year-old talked about the last year which she called ‘rough’ after the siblings lost their mother.
‘It kind of puts us in the positions where we are the wise ones in the families,’ she shared.
‘Our goal is to share some of what we learned. We’re dealing with a lot of uncertainties. I worry about folks being out of work. I worry about what we think about diversity and inclusion…who do we want to be as a country keeps me up at night.’