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Whoopi Goldberg Defends Malia Obama After She Drops Her Last Name For New Movie

February 22, 2024

Whoopi Goldberg is defending Malia Obama after the former first daughter dropped her last name for her directorial debut at the Sundance Film Festival.

Goldberg Defends Malia

The Wrap reported that Malia, 25, recently directed a short film called “The Heart,” but instead of including her last name in the credits, she went by “Malia Ann.” During Wednesday’s episode of the ABC talk show “The View,” Goldberg was quick to defend the daughter of Barack and Michelle Obama from the backlash she’s received for dropping her famous last name.

“She knows she’s an Obama, why do you care?” said Goldberg, 68. “Why do you care what she calls herself? If she wanted to call herself Jeanette McDonald, she has the right to! If I can be Whoopi Goldberg, she can be whoever the hell she wants to be!”

Goldberg’s real name is Caryn Elaine Johnson, but she decided to name herself after a whoopee cushion for her stage name at the start of her career.

“I mean, why are people triggered by this kind of stuff? Why are people wasting their time?” Goldberg added.

‘The View’ Co-Hosts Weigh In

While the liberal co-host Joy Behar agreed, she also felt that there would be nothing wrong with Malia using her last name.

“It’s not like her last name is Nixon,” Behar said. “Her last name has great vibes around it. So she might as well use it.”

Co-host Alyssa Farah Griffin chimed in to say that Malia is in a “damned if you do, damned if you don’t” situation.

“If she went as Malia Obama, they’d be like ‘She’s riding her parents’ coattails.’ And I can’t think of a bigger shadow to feel like you’re living in than the president and first lady of the United States,” said Farah Griffin, adding that the name change is more acceptable because Malia is doing something outside of politics.

“If she was running for congress in Illinois and was like ‘I’m running as Malia Ann,’ I’d be like that’s too cute by a half, you’re obviously an Obama following in Obama’s footsteps,” Farah Griffin explained. “But she’s doing her own thing!”

Check out this full segment in the video below.

Malia’s New Movie

The Hollywood Reporter stated that Malia wrote and directed “The Heart,” which is a short film about a grieving son grappling with an unusual request his mother left for him in her will.

“The film is about lost objects and lonely people and forgiveness and regret, but I also think it works hard to uncover where tenderness and closeness can exist in these things,” Malia said in a video promoting the film.

“The folks who came together to make this film have my heart, pun intended. And I’m incredibly grateful to them for giving this story life. And we are grateful to Sundance for giving us the opportunity to share it with you all,” she continued. “We hope that you enjoy the film and that it makes you feel a bit less lonely or at least reminds you not to forget about the people who are.”

Check out her full comments in the video below.

While it’s unclear why Malia chose to drop her last name for this project, we certainly wouldn’t blame her if she wants to distance herself from her radically liberal parents. What do you think about Malia’s name drop? Let us know in the comments section.

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