Michelle Obama and her brother, Craig Robinson, recently launched a new podcast series titled “IMO with Michelle Obama and Craig Robinson.” So far the show has released two episodes (available wherever you listen to or watch your podcasts): one where the hosts discuss why you should start a podcast with your sibling(s) and another with guest, Issa Rae. The trailer for the show includes cameos from a litany of celebrities who will be guests on the show from Tyler Perry to Keke Palmer to Tracee Ellis Ros, among others. The number of subscribers to the podcast is unavailable, but on YouTube, the show (which launched on Wednesday, March 12) has nearly 250,000 views, and counting. “IMO” is internet shorthand for “in my opinion.”
So far, the show seems to be a success. That early success probably comes as no surprise to anybody paying attention. Michelle Obama is a favorite of many—especially in the African American community, often being referred to as “Our Forever First Lady.”
One podcast that is watching the success of “IMO” very carefully is the “In My Opinion Podcast” hosted by three Black British men named Sukali, DTM and Uzoma. Their podcast—which they also refer to as “IMO Podcast”—has been around since 2020 and according to a video uploaded by the hosts, they trademarked the name in the United Kingdom and are working on a global trademark protection. They are concerned that the fame of Michelle Obama (who they also love) will cause confusion amongst listeners/viewers and possibly drown out their voices in the podcast space; they would like Mrs. Obama and her brother to reconsider the name of their podcast.
In an IG video posted on several Black cultural pages, the creators shared a message to Mrs. Obama. “To our forever First Lady, Michelle Obama, we respect highly what you’ve done for the culture, for the American people, for the cause. Obviously we are aware that you’ve launched your podcast. We don’t think you did it maliciously, but we are three young Black boys from London; we started the podcast five years ago, we’ve trademarked the name ‘In My Opinion Podcast’— ‘IMO Podcast’—and we don’t want our work to be drowned by your celebrity status.”
Their podcast, which they say “doesn’t talk about misogyny,” but “uplifts the community, uplifts the culture,” has nearly 20,000 subscribers on YouTube and they have over 80,000 followers on Instagram. They’re asking for Mrs. Obama to sit down and speak with them to see what can be done to resolve the situation as they see it. There is no word on whether either Mrs. Obama or Mr. Robinson has seen or responded, in any way, to the hosts from “In My Opinion Podcast.”
Neither “In My Opinion Podcast” or “IMO with Michelle Obama and Craig Robinson,” are the only podcasts with some variation of “in my opinion” in the title. A search of both “IMO” and “in my opinion” on Apple Podcasts returns over 100 shows with some variation of the wording in the title; most are a variation of “in my opinion” and most use the exact phrasing as their show title. As of yet, there have been no other reported public calls for Mrs. Obama and Mr. Robinson to reconsider their show’s name.
