Barack Obama mocked his daughter Malia after she decided to abandon her famous last name to break into the movie business.
The former president, 63, mocked his daughter and called her ‘stubborn’ in an appearance on the Pivot podcast, after it was revealed that she will be called ‘Malia Ann’ in the credits of the film The Heart, which he made with the megastar. Donald Glover.
Despite some critics calling out nepotism, Obama said Malia, 26, and her sister Sasha, 23, “do everything they can to not try to take advantage” of their family status, but indicated he supported their decision to do so. .
“The challenge for us is to allow us to provide them with any help,” he told host Ryan Clark. ‘I mean they are very sensitive about these things. They are very stubborn about it.
Malia Obama, 26, used the pseudonym Malia Ann when she made her directorial debut at the Sundance Film Festival earlier this year. Appears at the opening ceremony of the 50th American Film Festival in Deauville, France on September 6, 2024.
Malia is credited as the writer and director of The Heart, described on IMDB as the story of “an unexpected request and a terrible loss that draws attention to the intense and complex relationship between a mother and her son.”
The film premiered at the Sundance Film Festival earlier this year, however, Barack joked that Malia’s attempt to use her middle name ‘Ann’ to become anonymous was always ambitious.
“I was like, ‘You know they’re going to know who you are,'” Barack said on the podcast.
“And she says, ‘You know what? “I want them to see it for the first time and in no way have that association.”
The former president explained that he will ‘be a dad’ and ‘brag a little’ about his daughters’ successes, but he has also tried to keep their lives private as much as possible.
“When I was a kid, the press was pretty good,” Barack recalled, explaining how he “made a deal” with the White House press corps so they could follow him around, talk to him and “do whatever they had to do.” “whenever they agreed on a rule.
‘Leave my children alone. Because they have the right to grow. “They didn’t choose this,” he said. ‘Let them grow.’
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 everything Do your best not to try to take advantage of your family status.
While Obama proudly bragged about his daughters’ attempt to go out on their own, online critics criticized Malia’s efforts.
“It’s still nepotism,” responded one Internet commenter.
Another commenter said ‘Nepo baby’, while a third suggested Malia had professionally dropped her surname to avoid being associated with daddy Barack’s foreign policy decisions while in office.
The posters highlighted the perks Malia has enjoyed, including the chance to land an internship with a Hollywood icon who has since fallen from grace.
“I’ll never forget the time her parents offered her a college internship with Harvey Weinstein. Now she had Secret Service protection, but still,” the commentator said.
Others were more supportive and said they admired Malia for not trying to use her iconic last name to build a career.
Barack and his wife Michelle, photographed in 2021 with their two children, attempted to keep their daughters away from the press while the family resided in the White House. Barack says the media respected his wishes, but now that Malia and Sasha are older they are fighting the paparazzi
Malia received criticism for her attempt to separate herself from the Obama name when the film was released earlier this year, with many social media users branding her a “nepo baby.” Malia appears at the American Film Festival in Deauville, France on September 6, 2024.
Malia wrote and directed ‘The Heart’, a short film about the relationship between a mother and her son. It was his first film presented at Sundance. He is pictured at the film’s Sundance premiere at the Prospector Square Theater on January 18, 2024 in Park City, Utah.
Malia previously received criticism for her attempt to separate herself from the Obama name when the film was released earlier this year, with many social media users branding her a “nepo baby.”
“Obama’s daughter tries to mock baby nepo speech by not using her last name”. Bro, you’re Obama’s daughter,” one X user wrote at the time.
They added: ‘If you want to be a filmmaker, that’s great, but we all know who you are, you’re Obama’s daughter.’ You can’t hide that.’
“Calling yourself ‘Malia Ann’ won’t stop any criticism from Nepo Baby, miss former first daughter,” said another.
But an Brilliant logic.’
Another said: ‘I’m so proud of Malia. I noticed he also uses his middle name. It’s amazing to see people create their own lane. I’m sure she will be a great storyteller.’
‘I congratulate you for your work. And without taking advantage of his last name. Come on Malia. I hope you win a prize,” echoed another.
Malia became a “first daughter” in 2008, when Obama was elected to his first term. The Obama family pictured after the election.
Malia spent eight years living in the White House while her father was president. She is seen celebrating with her father after he accepted the presidential nomination at the Democratic National Convention in 2012.
Malia moved to the White House with her family in 2008 and stayed during Obama’s second term until 2017. She is pictured with her parents and sister in 2022.
Even actress Whoopi Goldberg, whose real name is Caryn Elaine Johnson, rushed to Malia’s defense.
“Apparently some people online are criticizing her for it, claiming that everyone knows she’s an Obama, so there’s no point in hiding it,” Goldberg said on her talk show The View in February.
‘If she knows it’s Obama, why do you care? Why do you care what she calls herself? If you wanted to be called Jeanette MacDonald, you have 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.
They both attended college (Malia at Harvard and Sasha at the University of Michigan) and began their own careers.
Malia and Sasha grew up in the spotlight, but have kept a relatively low profile since. The sisters are photographed with their parents in 2016.
Malia, pictured with her father and sister at the White Rose in 2015, has completed several film internships and now works as a copywriter.
Malia started out as an intern on Halle Berry’s CBS sci-fi series Extant when she was just 15, and then moved on to intern on HBO’s Girls when she was 17.
She also won an internship for Harvey Weinstein’s production company when she was 19, in the months before the sexual abuse scandal broke in 2017.
She then worked as a writer on Donald Glover’s Amazon Prime series, Swarm.
Glover told Vanity Fair in 2022: ‘She is an incredibly talented person. She is very focused and working very hard.
‘I feel like she’s someone who’s going to have some really good things happen to her soon. Your writing style is great.’