‘They know who you are’: Obama teases daughter after she drops last name for her debut movie

Former president addresses pressure on Malia to avoid allegations of nepotism

Barack Obama has teased his daughter after she dropped her last name for her attempt to break into the film industry.
The former president poked fun at his daughter over using only her first and middle names, Malia Ann, in the director’s credits of her debut film, The Heart, which she made with actor and musician Donald Glover.
Mr Obama, 63, quipped that Malia, 26, and her sister, Sasha, 23, were “stubborn” about being associated with their parents, adding that his elder daughter’s efforts to disguise her identity were futile.
“She didn’t use Obama,” the former president told The Pivot podcast. “On the credits, it said Malia Ann. I was like, ‘You do know they’ll know who you are?’
“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.’”
He continued that Malia and her sister “go out of their way to not try to leverage” their famous family name in order to avoid allegations of nepotism.
“The challenge for us is letting us give them any help at all,” Mr Obama said. “I mean they’re very sensitive about this stuff. They’re very stubborn about it.”
The two-term president also reflected on the difficulties of raising children in the public eye and said he and former first lady Michelle Obama worked hard to ensure their daughters had a grounded upbringing.
He also paid credit to Mrs Obama’s late mother, Marian Robinson, for her help in raising them.
“They didn’t feel as if they got something they hadn’t earned. They’ve turned out amazing. I can’t brag about them enough,” he said.
Malia is credited as the writer and director of The Heart. In a video introducing the film at the Sundance Film Festival, she described it as “an odd little story, somewhat of a fable, about a man grieving the death of his mother after she leaves him an unusual request in her will”.
“The film is about lost objects and lonely people, forgiveness and regret,” she added.
Despite Mr Obama admitting he can “be a dad” and “brag a little bit” about his daughters, he spoke of his efforts to keep their lives as shielded from public scrutiny as possible.
“Growing up, the press was pretty good,’ Mr Obama recalled, explaining that he “made a deal” with the White House press corps to keep his children out of the public eye.
“Leave my children alone. Because they have the right to grow up. They didn’t choose this,” he recalled telling journalists. “Let them grow up.”
Despite Malia changing her name for the release of her debut film earlier this year, the decision was met with criticism from some online commenters, who still accused her of cashing in on having famous parents.
Actress Whoopi Goldberg jumped to Malia’s defence at the time, asking critics: “Why do you care?”
“Apparently some folks online are criticising her for it, claiming everyone knows she’s an Obama, so it’s pointless to hide it,’ Goldberg told 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!”