Michelle Obama calls out ‘hypocrisy’ in White House during her time as first lady

Michelle Obama has opened up on the 'pure hypocrisy' she faced during her time in the White House in a tell-all new interview.

For those who need a reminder, Michelle served as First Lady of the United States from 2009 to 2017, as her husband Barack Obama was elected to the presidential position twice in a row.

Now 61, she spent a total of eight years in the role and also made history at the time as she was the first African-American woman to become first lady.

While her time in the position may have looked picture perfect, she's now revealed that not everything was exactly as it seemed.

The high-profile political role is a 'complicated assignment,' with Michelle describing it as 'knowing you’re supposed to be inspirational, yet accessible,' adding that you should be 'uniquely yourself, authentic, but representational at the same time'.

Obama further opened up some of the lesser-known realities of those eight years in a new exclusive interview with PEOPLE Magazine.

Michelle Obama has lifted the lid on some of the difficulties associated with being first lady (Brendan Smialowski/Getty Images)

Michelle was asked whether times when criticism, like that of her bare arms, affected her.

If you don't know what we're talking about, in 2009, the then-first lady sparked a whole load of backlash, simply because she wore a top that exposed her arms.

She posed for her first official White House photo in a sleeveless dress and people gave their two pence, hitting out that it was too informal.

Reacting to this moment, Michelle told the publication in her recent interview: "I took it for what it was, pure hypocrisy.

"I could pull up pictures of Jackie O in a second and see this fashion icon in sleeveless dresses as first lady. So at a point, you’re like, 'Oh, this is politics. If you can’t beat them, make everybody scared of them'.

"That was the motto. If it wasn’t the clothes, it was “that terrorist fist bump.” It was every word that we said. It was my husband’s tan suit."

Michelle is referring to the time in 2014 that her hubby Barack wore a tan suit during a press conference about the US military response to ISIS.

For some reason, people took his fashion choice as being disrespectful.

It was a role she held for eight years (Kevin Dietsch-Pool/Getty Images)

She told PEOPLE: "I loved that tan suit! When he had it on, I was like, “Oh, my God, you look so cute.”

"[Then] I was like, “Oh, you got clocked for that one. Welcome to my world.” That was towards the end of his presidency, so we were used to all the crazy issues that people would take with us."

In the interview, Michelle also heartbreakingly revealed that she never wore her hair in braids during her time as first lady as she 'didn't think the country was ready for it.'

She told the publication: "The Crown Act [which protects employees and students from race-based hair discrimination] hadn’t been passed yet, and just like fashion, I didn’t want my hair to become a distraction.

"But I understood the significance of wearing braids to our portrait unveiling. I wanted to send a message, add to the discourse of Black women in places of power, saying, “This, too, is an appropriate and beautiful way to wear your hair."

• Michelle Obama reveals how her looks were criticised during time as First Lady
• Barack Obama says Trump caused ‘genuine tension’ in his marriage to Michelle
• Barack Obama finally breaks silence over Donald Trump posting AI ape video of him & Michelle
• Michelle Obama reveals hidden meaning behind White House outfits in 'subtle jab' at Donald Trump