Why is Tracee Ellis Ross calling out Obama? Actress says former president failed as a friend

Tracee Ellis Ross shared an amusing story about her friendship with former President Barack Obama, though it carried a note of disappointment. Appearing on Jimmy Kimmel Live! on Thursday, August 14, Ross revisited her April appearance on Michelle Obama’s The Light Podcast, where she had joined the former first lady and Craig Robinson. She had “a great time” at the recording, but said it was a later exchange with the former president that stuck with her.

Tracee Ellis Ross told Kimmel that after a breakup, she happened to run into Obama, who, indicating he was aware the relationship wouldn't last, had quipped,

“I could have told you that.”

She admitted she was taken aback, and had replied,

“Well, you failed as a friend!”

The actress, known for her candid sense of humor, had added,

“Like, it was your job to say that before, you know what I mean? Nip it in the bud.”

Tracee Ellis Ross suggests she may have missed the chance to get dating help from the Obamas

Tracee Ellis Ross admitted she had never asked Barack and Michelle Obama to play matchmaker, though she hinted the idea might be overdue. Speaking candidly, Ross explained that she preferred meeting people organically and disliked using dating apps, which she compared to “shopping for a partner.”

She added that she enjoyed being set up by friends, saying,

“I have posed the question to many a friend.”

Even so, the actress said she had never approached Michelle Obama for help in that department.

“I’ve never asked Michelle to set me up, which I think perhaps is dumb, and I need to get on that,” she shared.

While she seemed amused by the thought, Ross admitted she might have already “missed” her opportunity.

Tracee Ellis Ross says her date put basketball ahead of conversation

Tracee Ellis Ross had no problem recounting a recent disaster of a date, which she described as “very bad” and “so awful.” Chatting with Jimmy Kimmel Live! guest host Nicole Byer, the actress recalled sitting down for drinks when her date immediately turned his attention elsewhere.

“The drinks came and he took out his phone, put it and leaned it on the glass and watched a basketball game,” she shared.

At first, she tried to roll with it.

“I leaned back, and I took a deep breath. And I was like, ‘All right. Okay. I’m going to participate and lean in."

She continued,

"So I was like, ‘So who’s playing?’”

But her effort was met with silence and a raised hand.

“As in like, ‘Don’t let me miss anything.’”

That was enough for Ross.

"So I got my phone, and I was like, ‘I need to leave here.’ I was texting my friends. I was like, ‘This did not go well. This is not good,’” she explained, laughing that they only managed to get through one drink.

The worst part? The man didn’t seem to notice the date was a bust.

“My favorite is that he’s continued texting,” Ross explained.

Tracee Ellis Ross opens up about life without children or marriage in Solo Traveling

Tracee Ellis Ross invited viewers along on her solo journeys in her Roku series Solo Traveling with Tracee Ellis Ross, a project she hoped would reshape how people saw her life. At 52, Ross admitted she sometimes felt the pressure of outside opinions about her choice to remain single and child-free. However, through her travels, she realized that solitude could be powerful.

“I mean Oprah said it, she said I’m the poster child for singledom. I don’t wanna be that,” she said in the show’s first episode.

She explained,

“I wanna be the poster child for being and inhabiting your own skin, for living in your own skin.”

Her adventures have included everything from tasting olive oils to taking a cocktail-making class and supporting a women-run restaurant. There were less glamorous moments, too, including unexpected weather changes, or the pangs of loneliness after dining alone, but Ross said she embraced the full range of emotions.

“So much of what solo traveling is about, for me, [is] not waiting for something in order to walk towards my life, in order to be in my life, in order to experience my life,” she explained.

Reflecting on her journey, Ross said that not having children or a long-term relationship gave her room to explore herself deeply.

“It has deposited me here at 52 in an extraordinary experience that is filled with joy, loneliness, grief, exuberance, delight, like literally all of it, and I feel available to it,” she shared.