Malia Obama accused of copying filmmaker for Nike…
Malia Obama is being accused of copying an indie filmmaker’s work for her Nike industrial launched earlier this month — the first advert the previous president’s daughter has directed.
Natalie Jasmine Harris, 27, mentioned Obama’s one-minute industrial had scenes that had been “shockingly similar” to her own 2024 short movie “Grace.”
The scene in query is one in which two younger Black ladies play pat-a-cake.
Malia Obama met Natalie Jasmine Harris at the Sundance Festival final 12 months when their short movies had been in competitors. Getty Images
Harris mentioned she was devastated when she noticed the Nike industrial. Getty Images for Acura
“It’s not about the game,” Harris famous to Business Insider. “It’s about the cinematic tools used to depict it.”
Harris mentioned there have been a lot of technical similarities — from the digital camera angles to the photographs to the framing composition and the colour palette.
“I know art often overlaps, but moments like this hit hard when you’ve poured your heart into telling stories with care and barely get the recognition you deserve. If brands want a certain look, why not hire from the source instead of for name recognition,” she posted on X.
“It’s devastating,” she wrote, next to a side-by-side comparability of the photographs.
Harris says she isn’t annoyed with Obama herself, but with the industry.
“It speaks to a larger issue of brands not supporting independent artists and opting for folks who already have name recognition, which doesn’t breed innovative films or original storytelling,” mentioned Harris.
The Nike industrial has two younger black ladies enjoying pat-a-cake, comparable to Harris’ movie. Tiktok/@nike
The two met at final 12 months’s Sundance Film Festival, when Harris screened the 14-minute “Grace” and the 2 had movies in competitors in what was Obama’s red-carpet debut, after the previous first daughter mentioned she’d drop her final identify to keep away from being labeled a nepo child.
Nike and Obama didn’t return The Post’s request for remark.
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