![First Lady Michelle Obama Hosts National Student Poets Program With Hip Hop Artist Q-Tip In the State Dining Room at the White House, September 8, 2016 in Washington, DC, First Lady Michelle Obama welcomed the fifth annual class of the National Student Poets Program.](https://api.time.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/michelle-obama-simpsons.jpg?quality=85&w=2400)
Michelle Obama may be willing to appear on “Carpool Karaoke” and Parks and Recreation, but apparently she draws the line at animated television shows. During a recent interview with Variety, The Simpsons co-creator James L. Brooks revealed that the long-running comedy series once tried to get the First Lady to play herself in an episode — to disappointing results.
After finding out that FLOTUS said The Mary Tyler Moore Show — another of Brooks’ co-creations — is one of her favorite programs, the Emmy winner explained how she turned down a chance to make her Springfield debut. “We tried to get her on The Simpsons and we couldn’t,” he said. “We finally got a note that said ‘good try,’ because we were so aggressive.”
The Simpsons version of Mrs. Obama (voiced by Angela Bassett) did show up in the fifteenth episode of the twenty-first season — an installment in which she teaches Lisa that there’s nothing wrong with being an overachiever.
Read more at Variety.com.
More Must-Reads from TIME
- Welcome to the Noah Lyles Olympics
- Melinda French Gates Is Going It Alone
- What to Do if You Can’t Afford Your Medications
- How to Buy Groceries Without Breaking the Bank
- Sienna Miller Is the Reason to Watch Horizon
- Why So Many Bitcoin Mining Companies Are Pivoting to AI
- The 15 Best Movies to Watch on a Plane
- Want Weekly Recs on What to Watch, Read, and More? Sign Up for Worth Your Time
Write to Megan McCluskey at megan.mccluskey@time.com