Health

Watch Michelle Obama and Billy Eichner Yell About Vegetables with Big Bird

February 17th 2015

If the Obamas excel at anything, it's getting the causes near and dear to them out in the world and into the laps of the young people who need to understand them most. Following in POTUS' footsteps following his "Between Two Ferns" appearance, First Lady Michelle has gone the far more manic route, bringing her healthy eating campaign to Billy Eichner's boisterous "Billy on the Street."

Billy's frenetic and bombastic energy is the star of the clip — by far — but Michelle's ability to keep up with it is admirable (and probably, she would assert, due to her healthy eating habits). Big Bird being there? Well that's just because it's fun (and because he has a really great memory when it comes to the cast of "The Facts of Life"). Fans of "Billy on the Street" will also recognize the frequently un-enthused fan-favorite contestant Elena as well. And what did they all do? Why play a few rounds of that classic game, "Ariana Grande or a Carrot" before Michelle and Billy zipped off down the aisles of the supermarket in a shopping cart — as one does.

All of this was done in support of the First Lady's #EatBrighter campaign to encourage healthy eating habits. It's like a Millennial version of "Supermarket Sweep" and we are most assuredly not complaining. Take a look for yourself:

It may all seem like silly business, but in actuality, what the Obamas are doing is quite smart: they're not trying to force young people into their world, they're organically finding opportunities to insert themselves into ours. And sure, sometimes it may feel a bit corny or transparent — we all know FLOTUS is not here just for funsies — but it's a far bigger step towards engaging the youth and educating them on important issues than most other White House habitors have done. (Now all that's left is to get them on a podcast.)