Michelle Obama Was Preferred Choice For Ohio State Commencement: Report

Ohio State University wanted to get Michelle Obama to be its 2024 commencement speaker.

She TURNED DOWN the offer, if it was ever presented to her.

Ohio State went with Chris Pan instead.

In rather unflattering news for businessman and inspirational speaker Chris Pan, it's gone public that he was NOT one of the preferred choices to speak at the Spring 2024 Ohio State commencement.

Names on the preferred list included NBA icon LeBron James, the greatest Olympian ever Michael Phelps, and former first lady Michelle Obama.

Those three were the primary options, but it doesn't look like Pan even made the top ten on the university's preference list.

Others that were also considered were Lizzo, Trevor Noah, Rita Moreno, Lupita Nyong'o, Roxane Gay, Brene Brown, Morgan Freeman, and Dr. Mahzarin Banaji.

Ultimately, the job was given to Pan.

It certainly won't go down as one of the best commencement speeches ever, but it's one the students will NEVER forget.

Pan revealed that he wrote the speech while high on the psychedelic drug ayahuasca and also used ChatGPT to write a fair portion of his address.

In addition to ayahuasca, Pan claimed that he was also under the effects of "mushroom journeys, psilocybin journeys," while writing the speech.

It's not 100% clear why Pan was chosen over the other names on the list.

Since she wasn't the person who ended up doing it, it's fair to assume that Michelle Obama TURNED DOWN the role if she had indeed been offered it.

Instead, the students and their families were treated to Chris Pan, who had many memorable moments.

Ohio State President Walter "Ted" Carter Jr. said that he didn't read the speech before Pan took the stage, and it resulted in Carter being involved in a magic trick focused around bitcoin.

Pan then encouraged the students to invest in cryptocurrencies, which prompted boos from the audience.

Chris Pan also sang two different songs while on stage: 4 Non Blonde's "What's Up" and "This Little Light of Mine."

OSU has a history of making some interesting choices when it comes to who gets to speak at their commencements.

In 2022 they made headlines for rejecting legends Buzz Aldrin and Dolly Parton in favor of Intel CEO Patrick Gelsinger.

Do you think Pan was the right choice for the speech?

Let us know your opinion in the comments below!

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