Malia Obama, the daughter of Barack and Michelle Obama, is facing allegations of plagiarism over her recent Nike ad—the first commercial she’s directed. Indie filmmaker Natalie Jasmine Harris, 27, claims the one-minute spot includes scenes that bear a “shockingly similar” resemblance to her 2024 short film “Grace.”
The controversy hinges on a specific scene showing two young black girls playing pat-a-cake—a strikingly similar visual that Harris insists she used first in her short film, long before the Nike ad hit the airwaves.
At first, I’ll admit, I assumed Harris was exaggerating—maybe trying to ride the publicity wave by calling out a high-profile name. It seemed like a stretch.
But then I saw the side-by-side comparison.
I’m just going to leave this here.
This is my indie short film, “Grace,” next to Malia Obama’s @Nike x @_ajawilson22 commercial
It’s devastating, but at least you can (hopefully) see that this is about much more than just pat-a-cake…. pic.twitter.com/71m0H5n84z
— Natalie Jasmine Harris (@nataliejharris) May 12, 2025
There’s no sugarcoating it. The resemblance isn’t subtle. It’s undeniable.
“It’s not about the game,” Harris noted to Business Insider. “It’s about the cinematic tools used to depict it.”
Harris said there were a lot of technical similarities — from the camera angles to the shots to the framing composition and the color 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 comparison of the shots.
Harris says she isn’t frustrated 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,” said Harris.
And it’s not like Malia Obama can plead ignorance. According to the New York Post, she and Natalie Jasmine Harris met at last year’s Sundance Film Festival, where both had films in competition. Harris screened her 14-minute short “Grace,” and Obama made her red-carpet debut—ironically, after declaring she’d drop her famous last name to avoid being branded a “nepo baby.”
I’d say this incident is suprising, but, let’s be honest, it’s not. Plagiarism is an Obama family tradition. Her father, Barack Obama, was once caught plagiarizing a campaign speech—something the media largely ignored. Maybe that’s part of why he felt so comfortable picking Joe Biden as his running mate. They shared more than just a party—they shared a habit.
Back in 2006, then-Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick delivered a memorable line on the power of words:
“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal”—just words. Just words. “We have nothing to fear but fear itself”—just words. “Ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country”—just words. “I have a dream”—just words.”
Fast forward two years, and Obama’s version during a 2008 campaign speech sounded eerily familiar:
“Don’t tell me words don’t matter! ‘I have a dream.’ Just words. ‘We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal.’ Just words. ‘We have nothing to fear but fear itself.’ Just words, just speeches.”
The similarities weren’t a coincidence—they were lifted nearly word-for-word. Of course, Barack Obama got a pass, and I fully expect Malia to get one as well.
Will the mainstream media give this story the attention it deserves or cover it up? I think we all know the answer to that. But we’ll cover it because the public deserves to know the truth. Join PJ Media VIP to get exclusive analysis and uncensored coverage of stories like Malia Obama’s controversy. Don’t let big media bury these stories. Use code FIGHT for 60% off and support real journalism that isn’t afraid to speak truth to power.
