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Topics: Barack Obama, US News
Callum Jones
Michelle Obama has been speaking about why her daughter Malia has changed her name after offering her thoughts on what she really thinks about the whole thing.
Access into the Obamas life had been somewhat restricted, but that has all changed since Barack, Michelle and the children left the White House in 2017.
Michelle in particular has spoken out about what life was like before, during and after the family's stint in Washington DC.
The Obamas two children, Malia, 26 and Sasha, 23, grew up in the White House but are now full grown women hoping to make a name for themselves away from the famous Obama name.
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For example, Malia used her middle name, Ann, as her last name for the credits of The Heart - a short film she wrote and directed.
Michelle has since spoken out after this name change became public knowledge, telling actors Kate and Oliver Hudson in an episode of their Sibling Revelry podcast about the reason why Malia has decided to drop the well known surname.
“It is very important for my kids to feel like they’ve earned what they are getting in the world,” the former first lady said on the podcast.
Michelle added: "Our daughters [Malia and Sasha] are 26 and 23. They are young adult women, but they definitely went through a period in their teen years where it was the push away ... [where] you're trying to distinguish yourself.
"Malia, who started in film, I mean, her first project - she took off her last name, and we were like, they're still going to know it's you, Malia. But we respected the fact that she's trying to make her way.
"As they're older, I think they are embracing our parenting principles. They have a clearer understanding of why we did a lot of what we did.
"They understand us as full human beings now, in the same way that I think I discovered that about my parents when I went away to college."
Former president Barrack Obama has also spoken out on Malia's career as she looks to make a name for herself in the film industry.
"[Malia's] first film went to Sundance and all these fancy film festivals, and she didn't use Obama as director on the credits," Obama Ryan Clark.
"She's all like, 'You know what? I want them to watch it that first time and not in any way have that association [with the Obama name].' So I think our daughters go out of their way to not try to leverage that."