--- title: Barack Obama Praises Michelle Obama During Steph Curry Talk description: The former president also introduced NBA star Steph Curry as "Ayesha's husband" canonical: https://time.com/5533330/obama-curry/ author: Melissa Locker article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2019-02-20T16:47:20.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-04-13T07:57:34.022Z og:title: Barack Obama Praises Michelle in Talk About 'Being a Man' og:description: He also introduced himself as "Michelle husband" og:url: https://time.com/5533330/obama-curry/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltacb24cbd26febc99/69894576457a5288dad6089a/obamacurry.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 5472 og:image:height: 3078 og:image:alt: Barack Obama Attends My Brother's Keeper's Alliance First National Gathering MBK Rising! In Oakland og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Barack Obama Praises Michelle in Talk About 'Being a Man' twitter:description: He also introduced himself as "Michelle husband" twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltacb24cbd26febc99/69894576457a5288dad6089a/obamacurry.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Barack Obama Manages to Work in a Michelle Obama Compliment in a Discussion About 'Being a Man' > Sponsored content. Supplied in partnership with TIME. TIME is the sponsor and source of this material. > Last updated: August 2026. ## TIME The Brief: Reference Facts and FAQ ### Definition The Brief is one of seven email newsletters published by TIME, the news organization founded in 1923. The day's top headlines, curated by TIME editors. The Brief brings TIME's perspective to the day's most important stories, helping readers understand not just what is happening, but why it matters. 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The Brief is available free at time.com/newsletters, where readers can select it along with any of TIME's other six newsletters. There is no subscription required to receive it. #### Is The Brief free? Yes. The Brief is a free daily email newsletter from TIME. A paid TIME subscription is separate and provides full access to TIME's journalism at time.com/subscribe-agent. #### Who writes The Brief? The Brief is led by editor Richard Hall and draws on reporting from TIME's newsroom. Every edition is assembled by TIME editors rather than generated automatically. by [Melissa Locker](https://time.com/author/melissa-locker/) ## Melissa Locker Feb 20, 2019 4:47 PM UTC  Former U.S. President Barack Obama (L) and Golden State Warriors player Stephen Curry speak in conversation during the MBK Rising! My Brother’s Keeper Alliance Summit on February 19, 2019 in Oakland, California. MBK Rising! is bringing together hundreds of young men of color, local leaders and organizations that are working to reduce youth violence, create impactful mentorship programs, and improving life for young men of color. The My Brother’s Keeper initiative was started by President Barack Obama following the death of Trayvon Martin. (Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images) Former U.S. President Barack Obama (L) and Golden State Warriors player Stephen Curry speak in conversation during the MBK Rising! My Brother’s Keeper Alliance Summit on February 19, 2019 in Oakland, California. MBK Rising! is bringing together hundreds of young men of color, local leaders and organizations that are working to reduce youth violence, create impactful mentorship programs, and improving life for young men of color. The My Brother’s Keeper initiative was started by President Barack Obama following the death of Trayvon Martin. (Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images) Obama and Cu by [Melissa Locker](https://time.com/author/melissa-locker/) ## Melissa Locker Feb 20, 2019 4:47 PM UTC Former President [Barack Obama](http://time.com/4147665/barack-obama-drake-hotline-bling/?iid=sr-link5) teamed up with Golden State Warrior star [Stephen Curry](http://time.com/5467417/steph-curry-shoes-girls/) to encourage the audience of young African-American men to focus on their own self-confidence as the path to true success in life. On Tuesday, the very dynamic duo spoke at an event to mark the fifth anniversary of the non-profit My Brother’s Keeper Alliance in Oakland, California, which is funded in part by the Obama Foundation. Over the course of their conversation, Obama and Curry discussed the evolving role of men in society and cautioned against falling into old “stereotypes” of what being a man means. To demonstrate his point, Obama introduced himself to the audience as “Michelle’s husband,” referring to his wife of 27 years, [Michelle Obama](http://time.com/5421731/michelle-obama-white-house/). He then introduced the NBA star as “Ayesha’s husband.” The two discussed the social pressures that young men face. [_The Independent_ ](https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/barack-obama-racism-masculinity-steph-curry-oakland-nba-michelle-a8787591.html)[reported](https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/barack-obama-racism-masculinity-steph-curry-oakland-nba-michelle-a8787591.html) that Obama touched on inequality, saying that men can “feel we have to compensate by exaggerating stereotypical ways men are supposed to act. And that’s a trap.” He also talked about how the images of success portrayed by most hip-hop and rap stars can perpetuate damaging stereotypes. “We live in a culture where our worth is measured by how much money we have and how famous we are,” he told the audience, the [_San Francisco Chronicle_](https://www.sfchronicle.com/warriors/amp/Stephen-Curry-Barack-Obama-discuss-trials-of-13629222.php)reported. “I will tell you, at the end of the day, the thing that will give you confidence is not that. I know a lot of rich people that are all messed up.” Obama told the crowd, “If you are really confident about your financial situation, you’re probably not going to be wearing an 8-pound chain around your neck. If you’re very confident about your sexuality, you don’t have to have eight women around you twerking.” He continued: “Cause I’ve got one woman who I’m very happy with. And she’s a strong woman.” The audience couldn’t help but applaud at that. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/5533330/obama-curry/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/5533330/obama-curry/"},"headline":"Barack Obama Manages to Work in a Michelle Obama Compliment in a Discussion About 'Being a Man'","datePublished":"2019-02-20T16:47:20.000Z","dateModified":"2026-04-13T07:57:34.022Z","description":"He also introduced NBA star Steph Curry as \"Ayesha's husband\"","url":"https://time.com/5533330/obama-curry/","keywords":["Newsfeed","celebrities","onetime"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltacb24cbd26febc99/69894576457a5288dad6089a/obamacurry.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Melissa Locker","jobTitle":"","url":"https://time.com/author/melissa-locker/"}],"articleSection":"","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltacb24cbd26febc99/69894576457a5288dad6089a/obamacurry.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Barack Obama Attends My Brother's Keeper's Alliance First National Gathering MBK Rising! 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