Viola Davis Mocked For Her Portrayal Of Michelle Obama

Viola Davis is one of the greatest actors of her generation, but her latest role has seen her come in for some criticism.

The 56-year-old has been cast as Michelle Obama in The First Lady, an anthology series that centres on key moments in the history of the presidency, told from the perspectives of the women at the centre of them.

But while the long-awaited series boasts a stellar casts, with Davis starring alongside the likes of Michelle Pfeiffer and Gillian Anderson, the reception has been pretty lukewarm.

And Davis herself has been heavily mocked for her performance.

Sharing a clip from the series on Twitter, one horrified viewer wrote: "Nahhhhh, viola Davies be violating."

Echoing the displeasure, another chimed in: "Viola Davies is an amazing actress but unfortunately I feel someone else should have played this role."

"Viola Davies portrayal of Michelle Obama was to get back at her for being friends with the rat George Bush," put a third.

While yet another added: "We need to have a serious conversation about Viola Davies... "

But it's not just viewers at home who have been shocked and appalled by the series.

The First Lady has also been panned by critics, many of whom said it stinks, with it scoring just 43 percent on Rotten Tomatoes. Ouch.

One critic wrote: "Ten episodes in, you don’t come away feeling you know the stories of these women any better, any deeper, than you already did."

Another said: "For all its glossy production values and talented leads, a few episodes in The First Lady starts to show fatigue, like three highly padded made-for-TV movies spliced together."

"There's never quite enough from any one first lady, which leaves a sense of disappointment. It's unfortunately a show that is lesser than the sum of its Emmy- and Oscar-winning parts," added a third.

Davis recently opened up about the weight of expectation she felt from playing such an iconic figure.

She told Entertainment Weekly: "My first day was a scene where we arrived at the White House and we drove up and we walked in and there was me, Viola, in the back going, 'Holy s---' at just the shift and the change and the enormity of it all.

It definitely is not like any other job, because we're playing iconic characters that people have ownership of, people know."

Topics: US News, Twitter, Viral

Dominic Smithers

Dominic Smithers is the News/Agenda Desk Lead, covering the latest trends and breaking stories. After graduating from the University of Leeds with a degree in French and History, he went on to write for the Manchester Evening News, the Accrington Observer and the Macclesfield Express. So as you can imagine, he’s spent many a night wondering just how useful that second language has been. But c'est la vie.

@SmithersDom