Former US President Barack Obama has opened up about the decision of his daughter, Malia Obama to change her name.
Recall that 26-year-old Malia dropped her last name for her directorial debut, ‘The Heart’ at the 2024 Sundance Film Festival. Her name was instead listed with her first and middle name, Malia Ann.
In a recent chat with Pivot Podcast, Obama said he wasn’t surprised at her decision and added that his daughters didn’t want their parents’ influence on their careers.
“The challenge for us is letting us give them any help at all,” he said about Malia and his 23-year-old daughter Sasha. “I mean they’re very sensitive about this stuff. They’re very stubborn about it.”
Despite Malia wanting to separate herself from the family name professionally, her father reminded her that people may still recognize her regardless.
“I was all like, ‘You do know they’ll know who you are,’” Obama 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.’ So I think our daughters go out of their way to not try to leverage that.”
“Now, as they’ve gotten older, there’s been some paparazzi stuff going on, and it drives them nuts,” the former president said. “Their attitude is, ‘We’re not looking for all that.’ So they’re grounded.”
Obama said he and Michelle wanted to make sure that Malia and Sasha grew up having a normal childhood, which is why he almost didn’t run for office. However, he had made a deal with the White House press pool to ensure that his children were not bothered.