Malia Obama makes her debut after dropping her last name

This red carpet moment comes after the former President’s daughter dropped her last name - for one big reason.

Malia Obama has made her big Hollywood debut, turning heads as she walked the red carpet at the Deauville American Film Festival.

Malia, 26, the eldest daughter of former US President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama, was at the festival to attend the premiere of her short film The Heart, her directorial debut.

She looked gorgeous in an off-shoulder chequered matching two-piece, beaming as she posed for photos.

The plaid outfit by Vivienne Westwood was very Gen Z chic: grungy, quirky and 90s inspired.

She paired the outfit with some brown boots.

Malia looked great. Picture: Loic VENANCE / AFP

She said she was “terrified” but “excited.” Picture: Loic VENANCE / AFP

Malia told a reporter that she was “so excited” to be there and that she’d “never done anything like this.”

The 26-year-old said she was a bit “terrified,” but the excitement outweighed the fear. She then called her designer outfit “cool.”

Malia’s red carpet moment comes after she dropped her last name professionally as she pursues a career in Hollywood.

Being the daughter of the former President of the United States certainly has some perks, but Malia made a small move to disassociate herself from her famous parents.

She’s credited as Malia Ann. Picture: Foc Kan/WireImage

Malia, who interned at Vogue as a teenager, graduated from Harvard University and has already worked with creator Donald Glover, is using her middle name as her surname.

In her short film The Heart, she’s credited as Malia Ann.

It’s a big move, considering that the last name Obama has probably opened a few doors in the past.

She directed and wrote The Heart. Picture: Loic VENANCE / AFP

Malia grew up famous because of her dad. Picture: Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images

Online people aren’t convinced, though, that dropping her famous last name is going to do much to dissociate the Harvard graduate from her parents or stop her from experiencing nepotism.

Someone joked that it didn’t “work” because people were still only talking about her because she was an Obama in the first place.

One remarked that it was just a “typical nepotism baby” move, and someone wrote that she was turning down a “label” but still benefiting from having famous parents.

Another said that she’d “failed” to dissociate herself from her parents, and online people were overwhelmingly unimpressed with the move.

Whoopi Goldberg defended her. Picture: Kevin Winter/Getty Images/AFP

The online debate caught the attention of Oscar winner Whoopi Goldberg, who defended Malia on US talk show The View.

“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!” she claimed.

Goldberg pointed out that Malia had every right to pursue her passions and shouldn’t be punished for having famous parents.

“I don’t understand why people need to crush other people’s dreams. You know, when people do that to you, it crushes you. Can you stop?!” she demanded.

Originally published as Malia Obama makes her debut after dropping her last name