Washington: Former President Barack Obama has a message for the "politically woke" crowd that has become prolific on social media in recent years: get over it.

Obama called out young progressives for being too ideologically rigid and judgmental during an interview on Tuesday moderated by drama-comedy show Grown-ish star Yara Shahidi at the Obama Foundation Summit in Chicago.

"This idea of purity and you're never compromised and you're always politically woke and all that stuff, you should get over that quickly," the two-term Democrat said.

"The world is messy. There are ambiguities. People who do really good stuff have flaws. People who you are fighting may love their kids and share certain things with you."