Michelle Obama said what-now?
The French government denies the claim in a biography written about its first lady, Carla Bruni-Sarkozy, that Michelle Obama called being First Lady of the United States “hell.”
“Mrs. Bruni-Sarkozy distances herself completely from the content of the book ‘Carla and the Ambitious,'” French Embassy spokesman Emmanuel Lenain, spokesman at the French embassy in Washington D.C., told CBS News. “The words attributed to the First Lady of the United States were never said.”
In a conversation with the Daily News, Lenain called the bio “unauthorized,” and said Bruni was not involved with writing it.
The White House has also denied the First Lady ever made such a statement.
According to the Daily Mail report, which initially claimed Bruni participated in writing the book with authors Michael Darmon and Yves Derai, the biography claims Bruni had a private conversation with Mrs. Obama at the White House in March in which she asked what she felt about being the First Lady.
“Don’t ask! It’s hell. I can’t stand it!” the book alleges Mrs. Obama told Bruni.
It also claims Bruni believes Sarkozy would be happy being just a one-term president of France, the Daily Mail reports, and refers to herself as a “femme fatale.”
According to London‘s The Guardian, “Carla and the Ambitious” also states Bruni and her husband obtained a police report which identified the culprits behind reports that the two had been having affairs. The couple has denied all claims of infidelity.
The outspoken Italian, who has a small role in the upcoming Woody Allen film, “Midnight in Paris,” has had a notable singing career and courted controversy in the past due to nude photos, racy song lyrics and her sharp tongue.
Bruni and President Nicolas Sarkozy were married in 2008.
“Carla and the Ambitious” is one of two books about France’s first lady to be released. French journalist Besma Lahouri penned a competing tome, “Carla: A Secret Life,” which claims the marriage between Bruni and Sarkozy is fraught with jealousy, and that Bruni has had extensive plastic surgery.
msheridan@nydailynews.com; or follow him at Twitter.com/NYDNSheridan
With News Wire Services
