During an appearance on The Pivot podcast, hosted by former NFL stars Ryan Clark, Fred Taylor, and Channing Crowder, Obama shared insights about Malia’s decision to exclude their famous last name ‘Obama’ in her filmmaking career, opting instead to go by Malia Ann.

Malia, now 26, made her mark in the entertainment industry as a staff writer for the Emmy-nominated Prime show Swarm and recently directed her first short film, The Heart, an 18-minute piece that premiered at the 2023 Toronto International Film Festival.

The film has since gained traction, earning the Young Spirit Award at the Deauville Film Festival in France and the Best Live Action Short prize at the Chicago International Film Festival.

Discussing his daughter’s move, Obama admitted on the podcast released to YouTube Saturday, “Malia, she’s making movies. So she made her first movie. And you know, I’ll be a dad, I’ll brag a little bit … her first film went to Sundance and all these fancy film festivals. And she didn’t use ‘Obama’ as director on the credits, it said ‘Malia Ann.’”

He added, “I was all 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.’”

Obama noted that this decision reflects a trend among children of public figures who wish to carve out identities separate from their famous parents.

Despite the former president’s pride, he noted, “The challenge for us is letting us give them any help at all. They’re very sensitive about this stuff. They’re very stubborn about it.”

Malia’s work has drawn both praise and scrutiny. At Sundance, some critics labelled her a “nepo baby,” shorthand for “nepotism baby,” pointing out that most emerging filmmakers don’t have the luxury of working with industry titans like Donald Glover, who collaborated with her on Swarm.

Reflecting on raising daughters in the spotlight, Obama recounted an agreement made during his presidency with the White House press pool: “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.’”

He credited the press for respecting this, allowing Malia and her younger sister, Sasha, the opportunity to navigate their formative years relatively privately.

Despite this, he noted that as his daughters have matured, there has been increased public scrutiny.

“Now, as they’ve gotten older, there’s been some paparazzi stuff going on, and it drives them nuts. Their attitude is, ‘We’re not looking for all that.’ So they’re grounded.”

National Post on Monday reported that defenders argue that while Malia’s connections have undeniably opened doors, her talents have helped her step through them.

The Daily Beast underscored this conversation with a piece titled “Nepo Baby of the Week: Is Malia Obama’s Film Debut Any Good?” which offered a mixed review of The Heart: “It’s subtle, it’s somewhat strange, and its visuals are warm and lo-fi,” and concluded, “The Heart is not a bad film … it’s about what you’d expect from a young filmmaker.”

Meanwhile, The New York Times’ Kyle Buchanan described it as “well-shot” and “a promising debut,” hinting at subtle nods in the closing credits: “You wouldn’t even suspect it came from a former first daughter, though in-the-know types might wonder if the ‘Steven and Kate’ thanked in the closing credits are Spielberg and Capshaw, a husband and wife who can ensure a well-connected debut.”

When asked whether he ever longed for the anonymity lost to fame, Obama reflected, “The thing I miss is just walking around and nobody knowing who you are. Like, you don’t realize what a benefit that is until you try it and suddenly you’ve got 100 people asking you for selfies and all that.” But with a characteristic dose of humility, he added, “That’s a high-class problem to have.”

In a lighthearted moment, he joked about the idea of disguising himself: “Put some dreadlocks on, get a beard, a moustache … but I can’t do it. Folks say, ‘Man, I’ve seen those ears before.’”

His wife, Michelle Obama, in past interviews, had been candid about the personal challenges she and Barack faced when starting their family.

In her memoir, she revealed that Malia and Sasha were conceived through in-vitro fertilisation.

Reactions to the Saturday YouTube post from the viewers acknowledged that this openness further underscored the family’s journey of balancing public life with personal narratives, one that Malia’s career path appears to be navigating in its own distinctive way.

Obama, giving a eulogy at the emotional funeral service in Atlanta of civil rights leader John Lewis on Thursday night, July 30, blasted alleged Republican attempts to suppress the minority vote and Trump’s repeated attacks on mail-in voting less than 100 days ahead of the November elections.

Obama said “Today we witness with our own eyes, police officers kneeling on the necks of Black Americans. We can witness our federal government sending agents to use tear gas and batons against peaceful demonstrators. Even as we sit here, there are those in power who are doing their darndest to discourage people from voting by closing polling locations and targeting minorities and students with restrictive ID laws and attacking our voting rights with surgical precision, even undermining the postal service in the run-up to an election that’s going to be dependent on mail-in ballots so people don’t get sick. These actions threaten US democracy”

Obama released a statement via his Twitter page, saying it “cannot be normal” in 2020 and urged the Minnesota authorities to ‘ensure that the circumstances surrounding George Floyd’s death are investigated thoroughly’.

Obama, U.S. first black president, added: “This shouldn’t be ‘normal’ in 2020 America. It can’t be normal. If we want our children to grow up in a nation that lives to its highest ideals, we can and must do better. It was fall mainly on the officials of Minnesota to ensure that the circumstances surrounding George Floyd’s death is investigated thoroughly and that justice is ultimately done. But it falls on all of us, regardless of our race or station – including the majority of men and women in law enforcement who take pride in doing their tough job the right way, every day – to work together to create a “new normal” in which the legacy of bigotry and unequal treatment no longer infects our institutions or our hearts. It’s natural to wish for life “to just get back to normal” as a pandemic and economic crisis upend everything around us. But we have to remember that for millions of Americans, being treated differently on account of race is tragically, painfully and maddeningly “normal” – whether it’s while dealing with the healthcare system, or interacting with the criminal justice system, or jogging down the street, or just watching birds in a park.”

The defence team unleashed White House advisor Pam Bondi to accuse Hunter of cashing in on his powerful father as vice president to take on the role of a board member in a corrupt Ukrainian oil firm, even though Hunter had no previous knowledge or experience in the oil sector.

Trump in releasing the transcript of his call with Zelensky, denied any wrongdoing saying he wanted to fight corruption in Ukraine following allegations then vice-president Joe Biden’s son, Hunter joined the board of a corrupt Ukranian gas firm, and when the Ukrainian government used an independent prosecutor to investigate the company and Hunter, Joe Biden bragged about holding up a billion dollars from Ukraine until the independent prosecutor was fired.

Following Bondi’s legal presentation, another Trump lawyer Eric Herschmann then blasted Obama. He recalled President Obama’s hot-mic conversation with then Russian President Dmitri Medvedev, who promised to transmit information to ‘Vladimir Putin’ during a conversation about a missile defence treaty in 2012.

Herschmann then suggested that it could have been used to impeach Obama because it amounted to ‘abuse of power’ than in his presentation, he now changed Trump’s name for Obama’s after reading his version of the first article of impeachment – abuse of power.

Kobe and Gianna both died in a helicopter crash on Sunday, January 26th 2020.

Obama wrote, “Kobe was a legend on the court and just getting started in what would have been just as meaningful a second act. To lose Gianna is even more heartbreaking to us as parents. Michelle and I send love and prayers to Vanessa and the entire Bryant family on an unthinkable day”.