Barack Obama reveals why daughter Malia gave up her surname to debut in her first movie

Malia Obama is carving her own path. When the previous first daughter made her short film debut on the Sundance Film Festival in January, she did so and not using a name.

While performing in “Pivot Podcast,” former President Barack Obama revealed that his now 26-year-old eldest daughter used a special name in the credits of her short film “The Heart,” which she wrote and directed with the assistance of Donald Glover.

According to her father, as an alternative of using Obama, she submitted the video under her first and middle names, Malia Ann.

“The challenge for us is to be able to help them at all,” Obama explained when asked how he encourages his daughters to follow their very own path.

“They are very sensitive about this. They are very stubborn about this,” he continued. “Malia, she makes movies, so she made her first movie. And, , I’m going to be a dad, I’m bragging slightly… her first movie was shown at Sundance and all these fancy film festivals, and she or he didn’t use Obama as director in the credits.

The former president told his daughter that no matter this omission, it could be inevitable that many viewers would know who she was, she said: “I want them to watch it for the first time and not have that association in any way.”

He added: “So I think our daughters are doing everything they can to not try to take advantage of that.”

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Malia’s 18-minute film tells the story of a son battling guilt after the death of his mother, debuted at Sundance to mixed reviews. Although some called her “nepo’s baby”, others noticed her skills and potential.

Obama made the revelation during a discussion with former NFL podcast stars Fred Taylor and Channing Crowder about how their children are coping with constructing their very own lives under the pressure of powerful parents.

The 63-year-old noted that his daughters’ aversion to visibility intensified during their time in the White House. He recalled having to negotiate at some level with the White House press to keep his daughters out of the narrative.

“They didn’t choose it, did they? Let’s let them grow up,” he said. “And to the press’s credit, they left them alone. Now, when they get older, something happens with the paparazzi and it drives them crazy, you know, because their attitude is, “We’re not looking for all that.” So they are grounded.”