Michelle Obama Defends Controversial Oscars Appearance

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When Michelle Obama made her surprise appearance at Sunday's Oscars, presenting Argo with the best picture prize, criticism came fast and furious, with conservative media pundits and other detractors lamenting the mix of Hollywood and politics.

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"That's just the nature of life," the first lady told NBC's Today show in an interview that aired Friday. "I mean, we live in a time when there are bloggers and tweeters and 24-hour news and everyone has a voice in this town square and it's a big one. And it's good -- overall, it's good -- but that means that at any point and given time, somebody's not gonna like what you do. That's just the nature of things."

(Very Zen. See also: Anne Hathaway addressing her polarizing persona backstage at the Academy Awards, saying that despite public vitriol against her, "things tip in the scale of the positive.")

Today interviewed Obama on Thursday in Springfield, Mo., during the last leg of a tour promoting her "Let's Move!" campaign to combat childhood obesity.

Her Oscar cameo (broadcast from the White House) was arranged by movie mogul Harvey Weinstein and intentionally kept off the show's run sheets so it wouldn't leak. After the fact, producer Craig Zadan told The Hollywood Reporter that when it was pitched to the first lady, her response was: "Yes, I think it's a great idea. We watch movies all the time at the White House. Let's do it."

Twitter: @ErinLCarlson

Email: erin.carlson@thr.com