No one should be surprised that when Barack Obama was president, women were often drawn to him.
Handsome, in his late 40s, charismatic, well-spoken, educated, and even able to sing, he exuded power, had a confident bop like no other, and wore a wedding ring—all traits that can attract admirers, even while the man is married.
Yet, many apparently Obama somehow sidestepped all attention and ignored any advances.
Former President Barack Obama, now 63, sat down with “The Pivot Podcast” on Oct. 29, where he shared with hosts Ryan Clark, Channing Crowder, and Fred Taylor some stories about women who tried to tempt him into infidelity and what helped him stay on the “straight and narrow” — a path his immediate Democratic predecessor, Bill Clinton, struggled to maintain.
Crowder asked the former president, “Do women be hollering at you and stuff?”
“You know, the truth is you guys as NFL players and athletes, generally it’s a lot like musicians; y’all get famous early. You get famous young, at a time when the attention that you’re talking about may be flattering, fun, or what have you,” Obama nervously explained, knowing that his wife was watching.
“By the time people really knew who I was, I was 43 years old,” he continued. “I was married, had two kids, you know, had gone grocery shopping. Had washed my car, right, you know. I was a regular guy in that sense, and so that kind of attention — by the time I got it — I was not tripping on it.”
He added, “There are times when women have acted in somewhat inappropriate ways. There are pictures on the Internet of, like, women grabbing my butt, and I was president at the time … like old ladies and stuff.”
When asked how the Secret Service reacted in those moments, the former president said, “I mean, they’re not going to wrestle them down on the ground.”
He went on to explain why he wouldn’t indulge in any extramarital dalliances. “My wife is such an extraordinary woman. Such an amazing partner that you just try to stay focused,” said the former president. “Stay on the straight and narrow, you know? And also, look, kids change your life. Right there, the idea of disappointing your kids is something that, you know … yeah … I ain’t going there. That’s about as far as I’m going with your question.”
This comes weeks after actress Jennifer Aniston put to rest rumors that she and the former president had an affair. She stated that she had only “met him once” and that she was closer to his wife than she was to him, scoffing off the gossip headline as silly.
“It’s absolutely untrue,” she said in an interview on “Jimmy Kimmel Live.”
🚨: Jennifer Aniston Addresses Affair Rumor With Barack Obama!
— Storiman (@storiman_wcs) October 5, 2024
“I was not mad at it, but it’s absolutely untrue.” pic.twitter.com/CvKD15n9fk
“Of all the calls you get from your publicist where you’re like, ‘Oh no, what’s it gonna be?’ Or the emails saying some cheesy tabloid’s going to make up a story—and then it’s that.” she added. “I was not mad at it. I’ve met him once. I know Michelle more than him.”
The Neighborhood Talk posted about the interview, and people could not help but chime in on ladies throwing themselves at their forever president, some admitting that he was talking about them.
One woman said, “I was definitely one of those ppl in the crowd when he was president.”
Another said, “Me & My aunties already apologized to First Lady Michelle, why we bringing it back up.”
A third comment said that people’s fear of Michelle might have been a big reason why he stayed in check, and some women knew not to play.
“His wife seem like she’ll go to war about it,” one person wrote. “Yall better leave that man alone.”
Whether or not he had a wife, people seemed to be ready to be his Monica Lewinsky, writing, “I mean Obama was fine.
Some people zeroed in on the fact that he was touched without consent and blasted those women for doing things to him that they wouldn’t want to happen to them.
“Sexually Assaulting the president is Insane!” one person wrote, as another broke it down even further, “See, when it’s a man we don’t say it for what it is. People sexually assaulted our former president…it was captured, published, and shared.. gotchya. SMH— keep ya hands to yourselfff people. This isn’t okay. Smh.”
Obama managed to leave the White House without one major scandal and has worked continuously to represent himself with the calm, cool and collective demeanor he ran the country on.
His children also managed to come out of the White House unscathed by major backlash, even as young adults, they find themselves in headlines from everything from how they dress, to who they are dating.
Recently, the paparazzi had a field day after spotting Sasha smoking cigarettes and wearing eclectic clothing while out with friends, with trolls saying she looks homeless.
Some are even trying to figure out who they are dating. When Malia was spotted in the Larchmont area of Los Angeles in September 2024 with Achilleas Ambatzidis, people could not help but swear they were dating.
Despite the spotlight, the Obamas remain grounded and maintain a low profile, surfacing publicly in support of family friend and Vice President Kamala Harris as she pursues the presidency.
In a tight race, Harris’s campaign has tapped into Obama’s star power with rally speeches and press appearances like this one with “The Pivot.”
They’ve even brought in celebrities like Eminem and Beyoncé to energize their fanbases and encourage voter turnout, a testament to the enduring influence of the Obamas on the political stage.
