Former President Barack Obama reveals why his daughter Malia opted to use “Malia Ann” instead of Obama for her first film.
Former Barack Obama recently shared his thoughts on his daughter Malia’s choice to use “Malia Ann” instead of Obama for her first film project.
Obama revealed that Malia, 26, purposefully left off the Obama family name when her short film “The Heart” premiered at Sundance and other festivals.
He said he warned her that people would still recognize her famous lineage.
“I was all like, ‘You do know they’ll know who you are,'” Obama recalled. However, Malia explained that she wanted the audience to watch the film without immediately associating it with the Obama family.
The proud father acknowledged that his daughters, including Sasha, 23, don’t try to leverage their status. “I think our daughters go out of their way to not try to leverage that,” he said.
Obama also noted that Malia and Sasha are resistant to accepting help from their famous parents. “The challenge for us is letting us give them any help at all,” he shared.
“They’re very sensitive about this stuff. They’re very stubborn about it.”
Earlier this year, “The View” co-host Whoopi Goldberg defended Malia’s decision to use “Malia Ann” for her directorial debut.
Goldberg argued that Malia has the right to call herself whatever she chooses.
Most recently, Malia made a red carpet-appearance at the Deauville American Film Festival in September. She wore a designer ensemble but admitted she doesn’t “know as much about fashion.”