Twitter Users Spot Weird Habit Viola Davis Adopted As Michelle Obama In ‘First Lady’
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Academy Award winner Viola Davis is under scrutiny for her portrayal of Michelle Obama in the new Showtime series “The First Lady.”
Davis stars alongside Michelle Pfeiffer as Betty Ford and Gillian Anderson as Eleanor Roosevelt in the show, which tells the tales of the ladies’ personal and political lives. The series debuted on April 17 and Twitter users immediately noticed certain facial expressions that Davis adopted in her attempt to portray Obama.
Viola Davis portrays Michelle Obama in the new Showtime series “The First Lady.” (Photo: Jordan Strauss/Invision via Associated Press)
Davis previously admitted in an interview with Vanity Fair that she was nervous about the task of playing the lawyer, writer and wife of the 44th president in the 10-episode series.
“There’s a lot of fear that I messed up my portrayal of Michelle Obama. She’s an icon. Everyone knows what she looks like and what she sounds like so I am absolutely terrified. But I’m mostly terrified about what she will think. I don’t want to insult her and have her calling me. I gotta make the sister look good,” Davis said at the series’ premiere screening on April 14.
To prepare for the role, Davis studied Obama’s speech patterns by listening to her podcasts “over a hundred times” and watching numerous videos to nail her mannerisms. She also consulted with Obama before filming and read her memoir, “Becoming” for more insight.
Some fans were disappointed in the way Davis brought Obama’s character to light. Others praised her acting prowess:
michelle watching viola davis make those faces pic.twitter.com/Ab5xEKmLV1
— jamaal (@roseinharlem) April 17, 2022
Viola Davis might be going to hell Idk pic.twitter.com/poa2ebOrKc
— Taylor (@LaborWithTaylor) April 17, 2022
Viola Davis is a great actor, one of the greatests to ever do it. Just because you find her performance in this show questionable doesn’t mean my girl ain’t talented.
— tope (@liveauthentic_) April 17, 2022
Y’all do understand the director(s) make decisions on how a actor or actress executes a character, so this viola Davis lip thing was likely pushed on her. I keep seeing ppl in the comments blaming viola Davis when she most likely isn’t the one to blame.
— Diahm. (@diahmEvans) April 17, 2022
trying not to see people talking shit about viola davis because she still is viola davis which is a compliment in and of itself pic.twitter.com/oOCX0HcVKw
— erikaroy. 🍊 (olivia colman's version) (@oliviascolmans) April 17, 2022
Viola Davis does one questionable role and people acting like she’s not a good actor 😭
— it ain’t fun Paramore! (@stuckiny2k) April 17, 2022
Barack when he watches Viola Davis’s caricature of his wife pic.twitter.com/QjOUzCAdRW
— rosechocglam (@rosechocglam) April 17, 2022
Let’s not forget when Viola Davis delivered this powerful performance on how to get away with murder pic.twitter.com/Kb062ZpjE8
— titan AGAIN & AGAIN (@stormovertitan) April 17, 2022
this zoom 😭😭😭 https://t.co/ykYA16l9bHpic.twitter.com/0SvTU00VI9
— paul (@paulswhtn) 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
Are we surprised that Viola Davis is remarkable as Michelle Obama; NO. She's amazing at all things. pic.twitter.com/YKUXB4xoVO
— 🕊️💞Dannie D💞🕊️ (@DannieD01) April 17, 2022
This article originally appeared on HuffPost and has been updated.