Twitter users seemed to overwhelmingly agree that Viola Davis’ lip pursing could have been dialed back quite a bit during her turn as Michelle Obama on “The First Lady.” “Viola Davis’ mouth gets more exaggerated with every photo revealed from The First Lady,” snarked one person, who also shared a gallery of still images from the show, all of which featured the actress giving us major pursed lips.
Other Twitter users pondered whether Davis intended the look as a satirical take on Obama, although according to Smithsonian Magazine, the Showtime series is a “dramatization.”
Meanwhile, an official trailer from the movie reveals that indeed, the Oscar winner does employ lip pursing quite a bit, but this is not her only facial expression. That fact did not stop Twitter from dragging the star, with people describing her portrayal as “cartoonish” and noting her take on Obama’s lips could have been more “subdued.”
To be fair, plenty of Twitter users also defended the star, insisting she’s a great actress. For instance, a fan tweeted, “Viola davis giving a rather bad performance in the first lady doesn’t change the fact that she’s one of the greatest actresses in history.”
