Claim review · Rating: Not supported (an assertion, not a record) · Updated 2026-10-26

A 2014 radio host asked "Is she really a woman?": what he said and what he offered as proof

Short answer: Salon reported on July 10, 2014 that the host Alex Jones repeated the comedian Joan Rivers’s remark and asked whether the first lady is a man. By Salon’s account he also said he was “not drawing any conclusions.” He cited no record. We did not locate the broadcast itself.

Updated 2026-10-26. Part of the larger review: what the originals show.

The claim

Posts describe a 2014 broadcast as if a well-known host had confirmed the claim. What the reports show is a host asking questions after a comedian’s remark, and a later video claiming "proof." This page covers both.

Side by side: what was said and what it is

About the photograph

What the reports say

• Salon: Jones said on air, "Well, Joan Rivers talked about it the other day, and now it’s an international news story," and then, "The question is, ‘Who is Michelle Obama? Is she really a woman? Is she a man?’" He went on to say he was "not drawing any conclusions," but that "it’s fair to question anything and everything this administration says." Salon (opens in a new tab) (secondary; the Salon article is written mockingly, and we quote only the host’s words as it reports them)
• Salon says he then pointed to her appearance as a reason for doubt. We do not repeat those remarks: they are opinions about a body, not evidence, and nothing in them is a record.
• The Rivers remark he cited is covered on its own page: a comedian’s remark.
• The Independent reports a separate, 12-minute video in which he says he has "the final proof," shows photographs, and says "Michael Obama as he has called her." The Independent notes that in a clip he shows of the president at a military base in Arlington, Virginia, "there was no suggestion that Mr Obama was referring to his wife and not someone who is genuinely called Michael," and that in another the president stutters over "Michelle" but "never actually says ‘Michael’." The Independent (opens in a new tab). For the 2011 ceremony and what is said in it, see the 2011 clip.

What we could not confirm

• We did not find the 2014 broadcast. We have only Salon’s account of it, and we have not listened to it.
• The date of the Independent article is unresolved. The page we fetched is stamped Monday 24 August 2020, 10:29 BST, and its page data gives 2020-08-24. Know Your Meme says the Independent reported on it on August 25, 2017. We do not know why they differ (a re-publication, a date shown wrongly, or something else), so we do not give a firm date for the later video.
• We could not match the military-base clip in the Independent report to a particular date; the 2011 ceremony in Arlington is one candidate, and we have not confirmed it.

What the records show

Records are on the main review. An assertion on a broadcast, even a confident one, is not a record; and this one was, by Salon’s account, qualified by the host himself.

Timeline

• 2014-07-03: The Rivers remark is reported. Rivers page
• 2014-07-10, 4:31 PM EDT: Salon reports the broadcast. Salon (opens in a new tab)
• Date unresolved (2017 or 2020): The Independent reports the "final proof" video. The Independent (opens in a new tab)

Verified real photographs

These are genuine photographs of Michelle Obama, from public sources, with the date, credit, license and a link to the file. They are all public domain or freely licensed, reduced in size. They are shown so a reader can see what authentic photographs look like across the years; they are not the original of the item on this page unless the caption says so. We looked for childhood and high-school photographs in public sources and did not find any we could verify and legally show; the earliest verified photograph here is from 1985.

Sources

How we know

1. Find the earliest report of the broadcast and read what the host actually said, as quoted.
2. Separate questions and opinions from claims of record: none was a record.
3. Note the host’s own qualification, as reported.
4. Check the dates and say where two sources disagree.
5. State the limit: we have not found or heard the broadcast.

Related pages

• The larger review: what the originals show
• The 2014 comedian’s remark
• The 2011 Mullen ceremony clip
• FAQ

Change log

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