President Barack Obama met with three entertaining young YouTube stars on Jan. 23 at the White House, but it wasn’t all laughs. The Guardian newspaper said the president faced “a surprise grilling” on such issues as healthcare and inequality. The Guardian reported:
The questions, frequently holding the president to account, came from YouTube personalities who have previously touted videos like “The five worst places to vomit” and “My push-up bra will help me get my man”.
But there was a notable absence of the quirkiness and outrageous manner that has led GloZell Green to gain 5 million followers on social media, or Hank Green’s Vlog Brothers YouTube channel to gain 2.4 million subscribers.
There were scattered moments, such as when GloZell Green accidentally called Michelle Obama the president’s “first wife” instead of the first lady, and when she cheekily said Raúl Castro “puts the ‘dick’ in dictator”.
Instead, in the 45-minute #YouTubeAsksObama interviews, the president fielded questions on inequality, college education, the economy, same-sex marriage rights and unemployment. Google, which owns YouTube, showed charts of search trends that demonstrated that economic issues including college, taxes, housing, employment and education were the most-searched during the session.
Actor Rob Lowe criticized Obama, tweeting:
Hold up. Is it true that a woman who eats cereal out of bathtub gets to meet with the President and the Prime Minister of Isreal (sic) does not?
Some people mocked Lowe for spelling Israel wrong (maybe he had cereal on the brain). Others agreed with the actor, who pointed out that GloZell has also been known to snort condoms and eat spoonfuls of cinnamon.
Below are top videos from the three YouTube personalities: