UPDATE: Keith Ablow defended his remarks on August 13 in an interview with Politico, saying it was “hypocrisy” for Michelle Obama to act as a “role model” on diet when she “has not been consistently a picture of fitness.”
A member of Fox News' “Medical A-Team” argued that Michelle Obama is not a credible voice on school nutrition because “she needs to drop a few” pounds.
First Lady Michelle Obama has made fighting childhood obesity a cornerstone of her time in the White House. Recently, she's faced backlash from conservatives seeking to put an end to one of Obama's victories: federal school lunch standards that emphasize healthy eating.
The hosts of Fox News' Outnumbered continued this fight on August 12, when Dr. Keith Ablow, a prominent member of the network's "Medical A-Team," claimed that Obama cannot be taken seriously on the issue of nutrition because she “needs to lose a few” pounds. Ablow's female co-hosts expressed surprise and quickly changed the subject.
KENNEDY: We don't need the federal government applying -- projecting -- these standards upon us. And Michelle Obama is so, like, the duchess when she speaks.
KIMBERLY GUILFOYLE: She's kind of annoying that way.
KENNEDY: She is.
ABLOW: And how well could she be eating? She needs to drop a few.
[CROSSTALK]
ABLOW: I'm telling you, let's be honest --
HARRIS FAULKNER: You did not say that --
ABLOW: We're taking nutrition advice from who? Who are we taking nutrition advice from?
The First Lady has long been the target of offensive personal attacks from the right, and Ablow is no stranger to sexist rhetoric himself, well-known for his anti-LGBT commentary and analysis that is often unsupported by the medical field at large.
Update: Fox News senior meteorologist Janice Dean later tweeted at Ablow, saying “please keep your comments about women 'dropping a few' to yourself. Sincerely, all women.”
Dear @keithablow please keep your comments about women “dropping a few” to yourself. Sincerely, all women. #outnumbered
-- Janice Dean (@JaniceDean) August 12, 2014
Watch the full segment: