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© Blavity, Inc., 2022

Viewers Mock Viola Davis' Portrayal Of Michelle Obama In New Show

In the debut episode, Davis continuously pursed her lips together, attempting to mimic the former first lady.

April 18, 2022 at 4:54 pm

After watching Viola Davis‘ portrayal of Michelle Obama in the first episode of The First Lady, viewers are pointing to the actor’s unusual facial characteristics. Dozens of people went to Twitter to ask why Davis continuously purses her lips in Sunday’s debut episode.

Viola Davis is SENDING me. I just know she is going to piss Michelle Obama off with this. 😭 https://t.co/i7sLqkwgCX
— 𝙱𝚎𝚌𝚌𝚊. (@MJFINESSELOVER) April 16, 2022

I'm concerned about Viola Davis' portrayal of Michelle Obama due to the excessive mimicking of her lip movement/placement. Emma Corrin was able to get the right amount of Her Royal Highness The Princess of Wales' mannerisms without them looking exaggerated or foolish. https://t.co/moy1GMj498

— Lelethu (@Lezarellar) April 17, 2022

The movie where Viola Davis is playing Michelle Obama gone piss me off if she do this the whole movie pic.twitter.com/v4xc2MuU8g

— F🗣CKYALIFE‼️ (@IamDKai) April 12, 2022

The fact that no one ever noticed this about Michelle Obama BUT Ms.Viola Davis dedicated her life to it 😭😭😭 https://t.co/EA7jYBxf4n

— 𝙴𝚛𝚒𝚌𝚔𝚊💜 (@_theeunicorn_) April 17, 2022

Michelle Obama did not purse her lips THAT much. What possessed Viola to think she should do that in every scene. I never thought I would see the day where Viola Davis gave a bad performance. pic.twitter.com/RNijmu0heU

— j (@augustsrain) April 17, 2022

Speaking with The Guardian, Davis said she is “terrified” about what Michelle Obama will think of her portrayal.

“Here’s the thing about Michelle Obama, which is very different from me, different from a lot of people: she’s healthy,” Davis said, according to The Guardian. “She’s a healthy human being, because she grew up in an environment where she always felt seen, always felt worthy. Maybe because I’ve been with a lot of artists in my life, a lot of people who’ve been traumatized, including myself, it’s very interesting to portray someone who literally is healthy.”

The actor said she watched the documentary Becoming at least 22 times while preparing for the role. The 56-year-old also spent time with the Obamas and read their books.

Davis is also noted for her role as James Brown’s mother in Get on Up, acting alongside the late Chadwick Boseman.

“I enjoyed being in Mississippi. I loved Chadwick, loved Chadwick. It was sort of awesome,” the Oscar-winning actor said.