First lady Michelle Obama touched on family, mom dancing, the White House Easter egg roll and, of course, getting kids to eat broccoli when she appeared on the Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon on Thursday.
Promoting the fifth year of her healthy eating and exercise campaign, the first lady’s interview lasted through two commercial breaks.
“I’m trying to put my vegetables into everything, but there’s a sneaky way to do it,” Fallon said, about hiding vegetables in his two toddler daughters’ food.
“One thing I did with my kids, it was basic, if you don’t eat your vegetables, you can’t have a treat,” Obama said, adding that if dinner wasn’t finished she didn’t serve late night meals. She quipped that after “a couple days of starvation” the children would eat anything.
“They get the point – then they’re like eat more broccoli,” said Fallon.
Obama played the straight man throughout, shooting down Fallon’s ideas to update the White House egg roll and his impression of the president.
“That was your Barack Obama?” she asked.
“Yeah, wasn’t it good?” Fallon said.
Obama paused before delivery – “No.”
Fallon’s show is a commanding platform – the late night host draws an average of 3.86m viewers a night one year after his debut. And while the live audience laughed it up, jokes were interspersed with a real push for the Let’s Move! initiative.
The anti-childhood obesity campaign in its fifth iteration – called #GimmeFive – is scheduled to be on display during the White House Easter egg roll. Children push eggs down the south lawn with wooden spoons in the 137-year-old tradition.
“We themed [the egg roll] after #GimmeFive, so there’s going to be a lot activity and cooking,” said Obama.
Fallon and Obama also introduced the second installment of the popular Evolution of Mom Dancing, a recurring segment where guests showcase the history of a particular dance with Fallon.
It's the Evolution of Mom Dancing 2 with @FLOTUS! https://t.co/wW3swKC7Zh #GimmeFive #MomDance #FallonTonight pic.twitter.com/PeYKQl1ySU
— Fallon Tonight (@FallonTonight) April 3, 2015
The first lady, naturally, tied the new moves, including I Can Still Do This Dance Because My Arms Are in Shape and One Move Behind in Zumba Class, to her Let’s Move! initiative.
Michelle Obama has appeared in several skits with Fallon over the years, including Ew!, a segment that has reappeared several times starring Fallon, comedian Will Ferrell and Obama.
