Malia Obama’s Nike directorial debut sparks copycat claims; Indie director says, ‘Why not hire from the source?’
Malia Obama's Nike ad faces allegations from filmmaker Natalie Jasmine Harris, who claims it copies scenes from her short film, Grace.
Malia Obama’s directorial debut for Nike is under scrutiny after indie filmmaker Natalie Jasmine Harris accused the former first daughter of copying elements from her 2024 short film, Grace. Harris claims Obama’s one-minute ad features scenes that are “shockingly similar” to her work.
Why is Malia Obama being accused of plagiarism?
Harris shared side-by-side stills from her short film, Grace and Malia Obama’s Nike commercial featuring WNBA star A’ja Wilson, highlighting striking similarities. Both clips show young Black girls playing pat-a-cake on a stoop—imagery Harris says closely mirrors a key scene from her 2024 film. In the caption, she wrote, “Been sitting with this for a while. My Sundance short film Grace (shot brilliantly by Tehillah de Castro) was made with deep love and care.”
Talking to Business Insider, she underscored, “It’s not about the game. It’s about the cinematic tools used to depict it.” She pointed out that there were a lot of technical similarities between the two projects, such as the camera angles, shots, framing position and colour palette.
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Harris highlights the ‘larger issue’ amid the plagiarism controversy
On X, Harris wrote, “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.”
Besides the side-by-side comparisons, she wrote, “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,” insisting she is not frustrated by Malia but the industry itself.
Harris and Malia met last year at Sundance Film Festival, where the two had their films in a race, with the former presenting her 14-minute Grace while the latter marked a red carpet debut. Previously the former first daughter also dropped her surname to avoid the nepo baby controversy, as reported by The New York Post.
