Malia Obama Having A Difficult Time At Harvard Dealing With One Major Issue, Says Her Mother

Malia Obama is having a difficult time at Harvard dealing with one major issue, her mother says. Former First Lady Michelle Obama was at a question-and-answer session with author Roxane Gay at the marketing conference, Inbound, on Wednesday in which she talked about life after the White House.

People reported that Michelle shared how her daughters, Malia and Sasha Obama, have been thrust into the public spotlight by no choice of their own and that it’s especially difficult for Malia. The 19-year-old was moved into her dorm on the Ivy League campus in late August. The eldest Obama daughter enrolled at the college after taking a gap year in 2016. During her time off, she was frequenting various outings and in the news for her hard-partying behavior. In addition to that, she went on a secret trip to South America in which she got to experience a different culture for a few months. Prior to heading to college, she was an intern in New York for Hollywood producer, Harvey Weinstein. In all that time, the press snapped photos of her and whatever she was wearing that day was of interest to the public. Malia tolerated the attention.

The paparazzi was present when Malia was moving into college. Her parents were on-hand to help out and her father would later reveal that saying goodbye to his eldest daughter was a little bit “like open-heart surgery,” fighting back tears after leaving the campus.

Mrs. Obama said on Wednesday that “fame is a monster” and that she herself has learned how to cope with it, but it’s not the same for her daughters. She said it’s “especially difficult” for Malia, who is asked dozens of times a day for her photo. The former first lady said that 20 to 30 people a day walk up to tell Malia that they know her or if they can get a selfie with her. The start of that trend was evident when she was recorded lashing out at one woman for following her around to get a photo then waited for her to exit a campus restaurant.

Michelle Obama on How Malia Deals with Dozens of People a Day Asking for Selfies at Harvard https://t.co/Ce1cmCwgCO

— People (@people) September 27, 2017

Michelle is requesting patience and privacy for Malia at this time. She’s proud of her daughters for reacting with “empathy and grace” with people even if they tell them no over taking a photo or giving them some of their time.

[Featured Image by Joshua Lott/Getty Images]