When Barack Obama was elected president, his daughter Malia was just 10 years old. And
though she does her best to stay out of headlines now, her college life and boyfriend are attracting
a ton of attention. So what is Malia’s life like now that she’s
out of the White House and attending Harvard? In a lot of ways, she’s doing exactly what
college kids do — which is sparking controversy. Here are the details.
You know Harvey Weinstein for his sexual assault allegations and one of the first offenders
to trigger the #MeToo movement. And the plot thickened when Twitter users called out Barack
Obama on his silence surrounding the whole ordeal. As it turns out, the Obamas have a
unique connection to Weinstein due to Malia’s internship with The Weinstein Company.
Newsweek reports Malia interned with the company during a gap year right before attending Harvard
and directly after her dad left office. Finally, her father broke his silence, saying Weinstein
needs to be held accountable and that he and Michelle are “disgusted” by the reports.
When you’re known as the former president’s daughter, it’s tough to stay out of the
spotlight. Malia found this to be particularly true after a video of her blowing smoke rings
surfaced on the internet. Malia certainly received some criticism regarding
the video, but more surprising was the praise. Bloggers and Twitter users alike took to the
internet to write that Malia was way cooler and more talented than they were at 19. What
she was smoking — whether it was a cigarette or otherwise — was never determined.
More videos of Malia have surfaced — and this time, she was rocking out at a festival.
The young Obama attended Lollapalooza and really let loose, thrashing on the ground
and partying hard with her friends. While it certainly looked like the teen was
having a good time, she also received some backlash. Some saw her smoking a joint at
the festival. Perhaps the speculation is why she chose to sport a “smoking kills” shirt
just a few months later.
The same night Malia was rocking out at Lollapalooza, another video surfaced. This time, it shows
her looking quite out of sorts as she’s escorted out of the venue on a golf cart.
So, was it all the head-banging and thrashing that had Malia so worn out — or could it
have been something more? And who else was riding with her in the golf cart? Either way,
Twitter users were quick to come to her defense, saying she’s doing exactly what you should
be doing at a festival: having fun.
In November 2017, wild speculation ensued
after Malia was caught kissing a stranger at a Harvard-Yale football game. Now, that
teen is her boyfriend. Rory Farquharson, the son of a British banker
and considered “quite a catch” among tabloids, also attends Harvard. And the couple was recently
seen looking quite close in New York City on an outing. In an attempt to stay out of
the public eye and keep their relationship a bit more private, Rory also recently chose
to delete all of his social media.
Malia isn’t scared to speak her mind, as evidenced by her reaction to a woman attempting
to take her picture on the street. In August 2017, a woman saw
Malia at a salad shop near Harvard and asked whether she could take her picture. She declined,
but the woman persisted anyway, even going so far as to wait for the young Obama to exit
another store. “Are you gonna take it in my face like an
animal in a cage?” Malia angrily said to the woman as she snapped the photo anyway.
It seems life after the White House isn’t as private as perhaps she was expecting.
As the media continues to follow Malia’s every move and gush over her relationship,
there are a few famous faces that have come to her defense. Surprisingly, one of them
is Ivanka Trump. Ivanka tweeted, “Malia Obama should be allowed the same privacy as
her school aged peers. She is a young adult and private citizen and should be OFF limits.”
Chelsea Clinton has also spoken out in support of Malia, tweeting, “Malia Obama’s private
life … should not be your clickbait. Be better.” And the Bush sisters famously wrote
a letter to the young Obama girls, telling them to “make mistakes — you are allowed
to.”