Malia goes Obama-less: Barack Obama responds to daughter dropping her last name - 'Our daughters go out of their way..'

The nepotism debate seems to have no end in sight, not just in India but around the globe. However, not all 'nepo kids' are eager to ride on their parents' fame. Take Malia Obama, for instance¡ªBarack Obama's daughter has chosen to distance herself from her father's fame by dropping his last name. Now, the former President is opening up about how he feels about her decision.

In January, Malia Obama made her directorial debut at the Sundance Film Festival with her short film The Heart, but notably, she chose to credit herself simply as Malia Ann, omitting the Obama name.

On a recent episode of the "Pivot" podcast, Barack Obama discussed this decision, saying, "Her first film went to Sundance and all these fancy film festivals and she didn¡¯t use ¡®Obama¡¯ as a director on the credits."

Credit: AP

He recounted how he told her, "You do know they¡¯ll know who you are," to which Malia replied, "You know what? I want them to watch it that first time and not in any way have that association."

Barack shared that both Malia and her younger sister Sasha are determined not to rely on their family¡¯s fame to further their careers. "I think our daughters go out of their way to not try to leverage that," he noted.

He added, "The challenge for us is letting us give them any help at all. I mean they're very sensitive about this stuff. They¡¯re very stubborn about it."

As they've grown older, they've faced some paparazzi attention, which frustrates them "because their attitude is, 'We're not looking for all that.'"

¡°So they're grounded," Obama said.

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