Charlize Theron Fangirls Out Over Michelle Obama
Charlize Theron really hit it off with Michelle Obama (Getty Images)
Charlize Theron got one of Michelle Obama’s infamous high fives — and she liked it.
The women took part in Tuesday’s Let Girls Learn panel at the Apollo Theater in Harlem, where they urged the audience of New York City schoolgirls not to take their education for granted. Clearly the first lady and the Oscar winner were feeling each other’s advice because Obama dropped one of her go-to moves, the high five, on Theron, who was so excited that she later tweeted about it.
Theron, a single mother of two, who called off her engagement to Sean Penn over the summer, urged the girls to put their schooling first over boys and other distractions.
“We have been told to live by a certain mold, especially women, and it’s time to break it and it’s up to us to do that,” the South African-born actress said. “Stop waiting for men to do that, look in the mirror and see yourself and say I am sexy, I am attractive, I am smart, I am intelligent, I am powerful, I have a voice, I look cute in these jeans. Yes, I don’t have long hair, I have short hair but I am still a girl and I’m still hot.”
Other stars to have a hands-on experience with the first lady include David Beckham and Kerry Washington. (Getty Images/AP Photo)
Obama agreed, saying, “Let’s just be clear, you don’t want to be with a boy that’s too stupid to know you’re a smart, young lady. And I want to encourage all of us as young women, as older women, we have to raise our own bars, you will not be successful hanging around people who drag you down.”
She added, “There is no boy at this age that is cute enough or interesting enough to stop you from getting your education. If I worried about who liked me and who thought I was cute when I was your age, I wouldn’t be married to the President of the United States.”
The line about her husband is what got Obama really fired up — that’s when she high fived Theron and then did a pretend mic drop.
Theron, who founded the Charlize Theron Africa Outreach Project and acts as the UN Messenger of Peace, also made a public appearance on Sunday when she took part in the Clinton Global Initiative. She had previously been keeping out of the spotlight since calling off her engagement to Penn in June and has been spending time bonding with her new daughter, August, whom she adopted in July.
We’re sure that little girl has been getting lots of good advice from her mom — and may even been learning how to do a perfect high five.
