Malia has found supporters in 'The View' hosts amid criticisms on the internet after she decided to forgo her last name as she launched a career as a director.
- Feb 22, 2024
AceShowbiz - Whoopi Goldberg has come to Malia Obama's defense against trolls. The "Sister Act" actress, 68, defended the former first daughter when keyboard warriors attacked the 25-year-old for not using her ex-US president dad Barack's famous last name to promote her first short film.
"Apparently some folks online are criticizing her for it, claiming everyone knows she's an Obama, so it's pointless to hide it," Whoopi blasted on "The View" on Wednesday, February 21.
Malia is now going by Malia Ann professionally, and Whoopi added, "If she knows she's an Obama, why do you care? Why do you care what she calls herself? If she wanted to call herself Jeanette MacDonald, she has the right to! If I can be Whoopi Goldberg, she can be whoever the hell she wants to be!"
Whoopi continued to lash out at Malia's critics, saying she had no idea why people were "triggered" by Malia's decision to use her middle name for her directorial debut "The Heart", which premiered last month at the Sundance Film Festival.
She added, "This is a grown woman! She is not thinking about her parents!"
Whoopi's "View" co-host Alyssa Farah Griffin, also backed Malia by saying she was trapped in a "damned if you do, damned if you don't" situation.
She said, "If she went as Malia Obama, it'd be, 'She's riding her parent's 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. She's trying to carve her own course in a new field that she's been pursuing."
Whoopi also warned people to "leave this child alone" - repeating, "Leave her alone!"
"View" star Sunny Hostin, 55, also backed Malia by saying, "She says, 'No, I want to make it on my own.' Isn't that what people want? Pick yourself up by the bootstraps, do your own thing, don't cash in on your name."
Whoopi told the Washington Post she does not use her birth name - Caryn Elaine Johnson - to keep her "personal life personal."
Barack, 62, and his wife Michelle Obama, 60, who celebrated their 31st wedding anniversary in October 2023, are also the parents of 22-year-old daughter Sasha Obama.
