Barack Obama has apparently applauded his “very stubborn” daughter for dropping her last name professionally as she builds her own career and tries to shake off the baby stigma of nepotism.
Malia Obama, 26, faced a wave of criticism when she used the pseudonym Malia Ann during her directorial debut at the Sundance Film Festival earlier this year.
Now her father has revealed that she wanted people to watch her short film ‘The Heart’, which she worked on with Donald Glover, without immediately associating her with the Obama family.
Barack says on The Pivot podcast on Tuesday that he warned Malia that people would still know who she was even if she dropped her last name, but claims that both she and her younger sister Sasha, 23, are “doing their best to not to try’. to take advantage of their family status.
“The challenge for us is to get them help at all,” he told host Ryan Clark. “I mean, they’re very sensitive about this kind of thing. They are very stubborn about that.’
Malia Obama, 26, used the pseudonym Malia Ann when she made her directorial debut at the Sundance Film Festival earlier this year. She is pictured at the Sundance premiere of her film The Heart on January 18, 2024 in Park City, Utah
Barack Obama, appearing on The Pivot podcast on Tuesday (pictured), says he warned Malia that people would still know who she was even if she dropped her last name, but claims that both she and her younger sister Sasha ‘do their utmost not to try to exploit their family status
Malia used her middle name “Ann” instead of her last name in the credits of her first film, but her father says he knew that wouldn’t keep people linking her to him and his wife Michelle.
“I was like, ‘You know they’re going to know who you are,’” Barack, 63, said.
“And she’s all like, ‘You know what? I want them to watch it the first time and not have that association in any way.’
The former president explained that he will “be a dad” and “brag a little” about his daughters’ successes, but has also tried to keep their lives private as much as possible.
“When I was growing up, the press was pretty good,” Barack recalled, explaining how he “made a deal” with the White House press corps that they could follow him, talk to him and “do what they had to do ‘, as long as they agreed to one line.
‘Leave my children alone. Because they have the right to grow up. “They didn’t choose this,” he said. ‘Let them grow up.’
Barack said the press respected his and Michelle’s wishes, but now that the girls are older, they have to deal with “paparazzi stuff.”
‘It drives them crazy. Their attitude is, “We’re not looking for any of that,” he said of his daughters, adding, “So they’re under house arrest.”
Malia was criticized for her attempt to break away from the Obama name when the film debuted earlier this year, with many social media users labeling her a “fake baby.” Malia will be showing at the American Film Festival in Deauville, France on September 6, 2024
Malia became ‘first daughter’ in 2008 when Obama was elected to his first term
Malia was criticized for her attempt to break away from the Obama name when the film debuted earlier this year, with many social media users labeling her a “fake baby.”
‘Obama’s daughter tries to avoid the nepo-baby discourse by not using her last name. Bro, you are Obama’s daughter,” one X user wrote at the time.
They added, “If you want to be a filmmaker, that’s cool, but we all know who you are, you’re Obama’s daughter. You can’t hide that.’
“Calling yourself ‘Malia Ann’ won’t deflect criticism of Nepo Baby, Miss Former First Daughter,” said another.
But one Brilliant logic.’
Another said: ‘I’m so proud of Malia. I noticed she also uses her middle name. It’s great to see people creating their own lane. I’m sure she’ll be a great storyteller.”
‘I salute her for her work. And don’t capitalize on her last name. Go Malia. I hope you win a prize,” echoed another.
Malia lived in the White House for eight years while her father was president
She moved to the White House with her family in 2008 and remained there until 2017 during Obama’s second term.
Even actress Whoopi Goldberg – whose real name is Caryn Elaine Johnson – rushed to Malia’s defense.
“Apparently some people are criticizing her online and claiming that everyone knows she’s an Obama, so there’s no point in hiding it,” Goldberg told her talk show The View in February.
“If she knows she’s an Obama, what difference does it make to you? Why do you care what she calls herself? If she wants to call herself Jeanette MacDonald, she has the right to do so! If I can be Whoopi Goldberg, she can be whoever she wants to be!’
The former first daughter wrote and directed “The Heart,” a short film about the relationship between a mother and her son.
It was her first film to appear at Sundance after interning on HBO’s Girls and working for Harvey Weinstein’s production company.
Since the Obamas left the White House in 2017, Malia and her younger sister Sasha have kept a relatively low profile.
Both went to college – Malia to Harvard and Sasha to the University of Michigan – and have started their own careers.
Malia and her sister grew up in the spotlight, but have kept a relatively low profile since
Malia has completed several film internships and now works as a staff writer
Malia started as an intern on Halle Berry’s CBS sci-fi series Extant at age 15, then interned on HBO’s Girls when she was 17.
She also won an internship at Harvey Weinstein’s production company when she was 19, in the months before the sex abuse scandal broke in 2017.
She then worked as a staff writer for Donald Glover’s Amazon Prime series, Swarm.
Glover told Vanity Fair in 2022, “She’s just an incredibly talented person. She is very focused and works very hard.
“I feel like she’s just someone who’s going to experience some really good things soon. Her writing style is great.’