A post shared on Facebook claims former First Lady Michelle Obama called country music “intellectually devoid” and “music for morons.”

Verdict: False

There is no record of Michelle Obama making the comments. The claim originated on a satire website.

Fact Check:

The post alleges that, during a joint interview with her husband, former President Barack Obama, Michelle Obama described country music as “music for morons.” Her comments purportedly came after the interviewer, Joe Barron, asked the couple what concerts they hoped to attend after the coronavirus pandemic ends.

“When the shocked interviewer asked why, she went into a long diatribe of how much she disliked the true American form of music, much of it shrouded in patriotic themes and Americana,” the post reads. “She said, ‘There’s never been an art form so intellectually devoid.'”

There is, however, no record of such an interview taking place. An internet search turned up no instances of Michelle Obama using the phrases to describe country music. Nor is there any evidence Barack Obama said that he is “not really a fan” of country music in such an interview.

In fact, the Obamas hosted at least two country music concerts during their tenure in the White House. (RELATED: Viral Post Claims Barack Obama Wanted To Change The National Anthem To ‘I’d Like To Teach The World To Sing’)

“Now, I know folks think I’m a ‘city boy’ but I do appreciate listening to country music because like all Americans, I appreciate the broad and indelible impact that country has had on our nation,” said Barack Obama at the event “An Evening of Country Music” at the White House in 2009. “It’s touched countless lives, it’s influenced all genres of music, it’s helped us make the American people more hopeful, it’s captured our restlessness and resilience, and told so much of our story in the process.”

The text being shared lifts word-for-word from an article published by We Are ALLOD, a parody news website that describes itself as part of a network that creates “parody, satire, and tomfoolery.” The “About Us” section of the website clearly disclaims that “everything on this website is fiction.”

Barron, a fictional character, often appears in stories on We Are ALLOD and other websites in the America’s Last Line of Defense satire network.