Barack Obama: 'Men Have Been Getting on My Nerves Lately'

During a speech at the Obama Foundation in Johannesburg, South Africa, former president Barack Obama gave some funny and necessary comments on the nature of masculinity today.

The world has pretty much always been a steaming pile of garbage. With that said, though, it’s definitely getting worse, especially if you look at U.S. politics. There’s a president who acts and speaks exactly like someone would if they were being blackmailed by Vladimir Putin, who calls other countries “shitholes,” and is fine with policies that put children in cages. It’s not like things such as corruption and racism were terrifically better before Trump was elected, but at least the epicenter wasn’t the White House. Which leads us to this week’s nostalgic Barack Obama news. 

During a speech to the leaders of the Obama Foundation in Johannesburg, South Africa on Wednesday, Obama reminded everyone why he is the nation’s favorite president when he got very real about the current state of masculinity, a concept very in need of mending. "Women in particular, by the way, I want you to get more involved," Obama said in footage shared by CNN. "Because men have been getting on my nerves lately."

If you listen closely, you can hear the exasperated sigh of millions of women (and some men) around the world saying, "ugh, same."

"Every day I read the newspaper, and I just think: Brothers, what’s wrong with you guys? What's wrong with us? I mean we're violent; we're bullying...you know, just not handling our business,” he continued.

“So, I think empowering more women on the continent—that right away is going to lead to some better policies," he added.

"Men have been getting on my nerves lately," says Barack Obama pic.twitter.com/j5z62PvKUL

As is often the case, Obama is echoing the sentiment of an intelligent, powerful woman who also happens to be his wife. Back in May, Michelle Obama spoke about the different standards we give men and women that allow men to get away with so much more than women do (case in point: Trump’s everything vs. Hillary Clinton’s…e-mails.) "I wish that girls could fail as bad as men do, and be okay," Michelle said, "because let me tell you, watching men fail up—it is frustrating. It's frustrating to see a lot of men blow it and win. And we hold ourselves to these crazy, crazy standards."

While in Kenya, Obama continued being his extremely delightful and soothing self at the launch of the Sauti Kuu Foundation, a youth education and sports center founded by his half-sister Auma Obama in his father’s hometown of Kogelo. The former president was filmed getting in some adorable dance moves with his grandmother and even shooting some hoops during the ceremony.

Former President Barack Obama opened his half-sister's new youth education and sports center in his father’s hometown of Kogelo, Kenya. pic.twitter.com/y4loujXONj
Obama dancing in Kenya is the perfect antidote to today pic.twitter.com/mP7WqTTo7Q

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