Just when it seemed Barack Obama would go down in history without any major personal scandals, a rumor has emerged that puts his loyalty to his wife of 32 years, Michelle Obama, into question.
Recently, tabloids suggested that the former president had been mesmerized by “Friends” star Jennifer Aniston, whose signature ’90s hairstyle became a cultural phenomenon.
One headline even proclaimed, “The Truth About Jen & Barack,” claiming that Michelle felt “betrayed as Aniston steals her husband’s attention.”
The gossip articles alleged that Obama and Aniston were “obsessed with each other,” leading to speculation that the Harvard graduate might have a wandering eye and had lost interest in his marriage to the mother of his two daughters, Sasha and Malia.
When the Daily Mail reported on the rumor, it generated significant buzz among their followers.
Some comments expressed disbelief, with one person writing, “It was often suggested that when Obama’s presidency ended, there would be separation or divorce. That has not come about.”
Another commenter laughed it off, calling it “the most unbelievable rumor I’ve ever read. Too funny.”
Another person sarcastically chimed in, “Saint Barack having an affair? What’s next? Him building a personal fortune?”
A more critical commenter likened Obama to Bill Clinton, who faced impeachment after being accused of sexual harassment by Paula Jones. Clinton had initially denied having an affair with White House intern Monica Lewinsky during the case, but it was later revealed that he had lied under oath about the relationship.
The comment read, “Clinton couldn’t focus on work because he was a horn dog. Obama’s motives are so sinister that the media makes things up to humanize him.”
Despite the chatter, Aniston herself stepped in to shut down the rumor during a recent appearance 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
Laughing off the situation, she said, “I wasn’t mad at it,” but ultimately said, “it’s absolutely untrue.”
Aniston explained, “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. I was not mad at it.” She went on to say, “I’ve met him once. I know Michelle more than him.”
While Obama has largely avoided personal scandals, his political career wasn’t entirely free from controversy.
Donald Trump, who later became president after the Obama administration, was the source of one of the biggest political attacks against him — the birther theory. This false claim suggested that Obama was not born in the United States, but in Kenya, which the conspiracy theorists dubiously claimed would have made him ineligible to be president. (Republican Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas was born in Canada to an American mother and Cuban father and held Canadian citizenship until renouncing it in 2013. There was little to no questioning of his eligibility during his 2016 presidential campaign.)
Trump began publicly promoting this conspiracy in 2011, even though Obama’s birth certificate clearly showed he was born in Hawaii in 1961. Despite the evidence, the theory caught on with some people, and many critics argued it was racially motivated.
In 2016, Trump finally acknowledged that Obama was born in the U.S. but falsely claimed that Hillary Clinton’s 2008 campaign had started the birther rumor — something for which there is no credible evidence.
Though Trump eventually walked back the claim, the racially charged damage had been done, and the theory persisted in some circles.
This baseless narrative, much like the Aniston affair rumor, was widely debunked and viewed as a political attack lacking any factual foundation.
