Barack Obama has revealed he fully supports his daughter Malia’s decision to use a stage name. Premiering her film “The Heart” at the 2024 Sundance Film Festival, the 26-year-old daughter of Barack Obama and Michelle Obama chose to go by Malia Ann, dropping the last name Obama and using her middle name.
According to Barack Obama, who also has a 23-year-old daughter, Sasha, this move was entirely expected.
“The challenge for us is letting us give them any help at all,” Barack Obama confessed on the October 29 episode of The Pivot Podcast. “I mean they’re very sensitive about this stuff. They’re very stubborn about it.”
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Barack Obama indicated that he advised his daughter Malia that even without using her last name, people would still recognize their connection.
“I was all like, ‘You do know they’ll know who you are,’” the 63-year-old explained. “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.’ So I think our daughters go out of their way to not try to leverage that.”
The former U.S. president observed that his daughters, Malia and Sasha, have in recent times attracted increased public attention after entering adulthood and pursuing their passions.
“Now, as they’ve gotten older, there’s been some paparazzi stuff going on, and it drives them nuts,” he said, “because their attitude is, ‘We’re not looking for all that.’ So they’re grounded.”
Barack Obama and Michelle Obama, now involved in Hollywood with their film company Higher Ground Productions, prioritized giving their daughters, Malia and Sasha, a semi-normal childhood, as reported by E! News.
Barack Obama admitted he was initially hesitant to run for office, fearing the impact it would have on their daughters.
He appreciated that during most of his presidency, the White House press pool focused on him, leaving Malia and Sasha alone.
“I basically made a deal with the press pool,” he explained. “I said, ‘You can follow me around. You can talk about me. You do whatever you need to do. Leave my children alone because they have the right to grow up. They didn’t choose this. Let them grow up.’ And to the credit of the press they did leave them alone.”
Now that Malia and Sasha are grown, the 44th President can’t help but be proud of what they have turned out to be — Malia’s film debut making rounds at prestigious film festivals and working with talented individuals like Donald Glover.
He expressed particular pride in how both daughters have matured, despite the challenges of growing up in the public eye.
“They’ve turned out amazing,” he said with a smile. “I can’t brag about them enough.”
