Barack Obama insists that straight men should have gay male friends to hold them accountable

President Barack Obama might not have been as radical as other Democrats, as he was in office prior to the super “woke” era, but don’t let that fool you — he’s very much playing the role now.

According to the Daily Wire, the former president made several bizarre remarks about gay men on his wife, former First Lady Michelle Obama’s podcast. 

Barack Obama insisted during the interview that he believes straight men need gay male friends to hold them accountable for making “ignorant” remarks and also to prepare them in case they end up with a gay or “non-binary” son.

The weird remarks came as he interviewed with his wife and her brother, Craig Robinson, who co-hosts the “IMO” podcast.

What did he say?

The topic of conversation, at one point, was about the challenges of raising boys, which sparked Barack Obama’s thoughts on what straight males should be doing in this day and age.

The Daily Wire noted:

When the discussion turned to raising young men, Obama said boys need “exposure” to all sorts of male role models, who can sometimes shed “perspective” on their own dad.

“And that’s one of the things that I think a lot of times boys need, is, not just exposure to one guy — one dad,” Mr. Obama said. “No matter how good the dad is, he can’t be everything. And that boy may need somebody to give the boy some perspective on the dad, right?”

The former president then recounted the relationship he had with a former professor of his, who happened to be gay. He claimed that the professor held him accountable for any “ignorant” remarks.

“One of the most valuable things I learned, as a guy, was I had a gay professor in college, at a time when openly gay folks still weren’t out a lot, who became one of my favorite professors, and was a great guy, and who would call me out when I started saying stuff that was ignorant,” Obama said.

Barack Obama says all young men need a gay friend.

This is a peculiar thing to say; it’s awkward and sounds like he doesn’t even believe it.

But… maybe he does. pic.twitter.com/EoSUCYBB9X

— Dale Jackson – AL and TN’s Most Trusted Journalist (@TheDaleJackson) July 18, 2025

Preparing for a “non-binary” son

Obama also explained that he believes it’s important for men to have gay friends to prepare for future gay sons.

“You need that, to show empathy and kindness,” he said.

Obama added, “And by the way, you need that person in your friend group, so that if you then have a boy who is gay or non-binary or what have you, they have somebody that they can go, ‘Okay, I’m not alone in this.'”

It probably won’t be the last time Obama makes those kind of remarks, as they’re great for exposure for his wife’s podcast.