Barack Obama mocked his daughter Malia after she decided to drop her famous surname to break into the movie business.
The former president, 63, poked fun at his daughter and called her ‘stubborn’ in an appearance on the Pivot podcast, after it was revealed she will go by ‘Malia Ann’ on the credits of movie The Heart, which she made with megastar Donald Glover.
Despite some critics crying nepotism, Obama said Malia, 26, and sister Sasha, 23, ‘go out of their way to not try to leverage’ their familial status, but indicated he was supportive of their decision to do so.
‘The challenge for us is letting us give them any help at all,’ he told host Ryan Clark. ‘I mean they’re very sensitive about this stuff. They’re 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. She is pictured 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 its IMDB as the story of ‘an unexpected request and a terrible loss that bring attention to the intense and complex relationship between a mother and her son.’
The film debuted at the Sundance Film Festival earlier this year, however Barack joked that Malia’s attempt to use her middle name ‘Ann’ to anonymize herself was always ambitious.
‘I was all like, “You do know they’ll know who you are,”‘ Barack said on the podcast.
‘And she’s all like, “You know what? I want them to watch it that first time and not in any way have that association”.’
The former president explained that he will ‘be a dad’ and ‘brag a little bit’ about his daughters’ successes, but also has tried to keep their lives private as much as possible.
‘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 around, speak to him and ‘do whatever they need to do’ as long as they agreed to one rule.
‘Leave my children alone. Because they have the right to grow up. They didn’t choose this,’ he said. ‘Let them grow up.’
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 both she and her younger sister Sasha ‘go out of their way to not try to leverage’ their familial status
While Obama proudly boasted of his daughters’ attempt to go out on her own, online critics panned Malia’s efforts.
‘It’s still nepotism,’ one internet commenter said in response.
Another commenter said ‘Nepo baby,’ while a third suggested Malia had dropped her surname professionally to avoid being associated with dad Barack’s foreign policy decisions while in office.
Posters highlighted the advantages Malia has enjoyed, including the ability to score an internship with a since-disgraced Hollywood icon.
‘I will never forget the time her parents set her up with a college internship with Harvey Weinstein. Now, she had Secret Service protection, but still,’ the commenter said.
Others were more supportive and said they admired Malia for not trying to use her iconic family name to build a career.
Barack and his wife Michelle, pictured in 2021 with their two children, tried to keep their daughters out of the press while the family resided in the White House. Barack says the media respected their wishes, but now that Malia and Sasha are older they are battling ‘paparazzi’
Malia received criticism over her attempt to separate herself from the Obama name when the film debuted earlier this year, with many social media users branding her a ‘nepo baby’. Malia is pictured 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 her first film to appear at Sundance. She is pictured at the film’s Sundance premiere at Prospector Square Theatre on January 18, 2024 in Park City, Utah
Malia previously received criticism over her attempt to separate herself from the Obama name when the film debuted earlier this year, with many social media users branding her a ‘nepo baby’.
‘Obama’s daughter trying to sneak past nepo baby discourse by not using her last name. Bro you are Obama’s daughter,’ one X user wrote at the time.
They added: ‘Like if you wanna 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” is not going to avert any Nepo Baby criticisms, Miss Former First Daughter,’ another said.
But one X user pointed out the paradox, saying: ‘So they can’t get ahead using their name but if they try to get ahead on their own merits they’ll be called out on pretending? Brilliant logic.’
Another said: ‘I’m so proud of Malia. I noticed she’s also going by her middle name. It’s amazing to see people create their own lane. I’m sure she will be a great storyteller.’
‘I salute her for her work. And not capitalizing on her last name. Go Malia. Hope you win a prize,’ echoed another.
Malia became ‘first daughter’ in 2008 when Obama was elected for his first term. The Obama family is 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 accepting the presidential nomination at the Democratic National Convention in 2012
Malia moved into the White House with her family in 2008 and stayed through 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 folks online are criticizing her for it, claiming everyone knows she’s an Obama, so it’s pointless to hide it,’ Goldberg told her talk show The View in February.
‘If she knows she’s an Obama, why do you care? Why do you care what she calls herself? If she wanted to call herself Jeanette MacDonald, she has the right to! If I can be Whoopi Goldberg, she can be whoever the hell 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 she interned on HBO‘s Girls and worked 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 attended college – Malia to Harvard and Sasha to the University of Michigan – and have gone on to start their own careers.
Malia and Sasha grew up in the limelight but have since maintained a relatively low profile. The sisters are pictured with their parents in 2016
Malia, pictured with her father and sister at the White Rose in 2015, has completed several internships in film and now works as a staff writer
Malia started off as an intern on Halle Berry’s CBS sci-fi series, Extant, when she was just 15, and then went 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 sex abuse scandal broke in 2017.
She then worked as a staff writer on Donald Glover’s Amazon Prime series, Swarm.
Glover said to Vanity Fair in 2022: ‘She’s just like, an amazingly talented person. She’s really focused, and she’s working really hard.
‘I feel like she’s just somebody who’s gonna have really good things coming soon. Her writing style is great.’