Former President Barack Obama's comments about black men and misogyny last week sparked a cycle of outrage in the media. Much of the backlash is unwarranted.

For those who are not Chronicled online, here's how it went down: Obama, in an address to workers at a Harris-Walz campaign office in Pittsburgh on Thursday, spoke candidly about the idea that misogyny could lead some men to withhold support for Harris. Obama spoke to a room made up mostly of campaign aides and Black Harris supporters, including several men. Some of the former president's comments discussed reasons why black men in particular should reject this type of misogyny.

But a full reading of his speech shows that he did not single out black men or even assume that the men in the room held these views:

The media backlash to these comments has been frustrating, to say the least. There are numerous editorials criticizing Obama for “lecturing black men” or “blaming” black men for the Democrats' alleged electoral problems. These positions seemingly ignore the fact that Obama made virtually the same statement to men more broadly during his speech in Pittsburgh later on Thursday.

And look: I've been outspoken in the past when I thought Obama was using the presidency to demean black men. I was too extremely critical the media narrative that a surge in support, particularly from black men, offers a chance to carry Trump to victory. But it wasn't Obama Strictly speaking I'm shaming myself in this way. He didn't say black men were the problemas some have suggested. He said black men who advocate misogyny are a problem – which is undeniably true – although they are not unique in this regard.

Obama's rhetoric is fairly normal for those like me who are involved in organizations whose goal is to eradicate misogyny. It's also similar to the messages we've heard from other men aimed at voters of different ethnicities. In the “White Dudes for Harris” call, white male influencers stopped other men from letting misogyny dictate their political decisions. And I've written about efforts to use military spokespeople to dissuade Latino men from similar hypermasculinity.

The idea that Obama, one of America's most prominent figures, would not make a similar plea when speaking to black men defies logic. The suggestion that black men should be offended by this plea or be spared from it for some reason doesn't make much sense to me either.

And on that note, it's telling that much of the backlash to Obama's comments came from paid pundits and commentators, rather than people immersed in the day-to-day work of challenging men of toxic masculinity. I'm not saying the former's views don't matter. But they should stop mocking Obama's comments and assuming that those comments are damaging to Democrats. There are certainly many men who agree with these comments. And they should hear much more.

I fear that some people in the media are covering up a real problem – hypermasculinity – to focus on a non-issue: Obama's condemnation of it.