Family forever. Malia and Sasha Obama are “proud” of Michelle’s Becoming documentary on Netflix. In an interview for the documentary, which was released on Wednesday, May 6, the former First Daughters opened up about their mom’s accomplishments both in and out of the White House. “I’m excited for her to be proud of what she’s done,” Sasha, 18, said. “Because I think that that’s the most important thing for a human to do, is be proud of themselves.”
Malia, 21, also said that her mom is “no longer facing the same scrutiny” as when she was the First Lady, which has allowed her to be more free with her decisions. “Being able to let all that leave your mind creates so much more space,” Malia said in the film.
In the documentary, Malia also reminds her mom about the influence she continues to have years after the Obamas left the White House. The pep talk happens before a speech that Michelle gives.“This has demonstrated, in a way, just, like, damn, those eight years weren’t for nothing, you know?” she said to Michelle. “You see that huge crowd out there? And that last speech you gave—people are here because people really believe in love and hope in other people.”
Michelle’s new documentary is inspired by the title of her 2018 book, Becoming. The Obamas lived in the White House from 2009 to 2017 as Michelle’s husband and Malia and Sasha’s father, President Barack Obama, served as the leader of the United States of America. Netflix’s Becoming is one of the few times that the Obama children have been in the spotlight.
In an interview on The Ellen DeGeneres Show in March, Michelle opened up about how the quarantine has affected their family. “It’s forced us to continue to sit down with each other, have real conversations, really ask questions and figure out how to keep ourselves occupied without just TV or computers,” Michelle said. “It’s a good exercise in reminding us that we just don’t need a lot of the stuff that we have.”
Becoming is available to stream on Netflix.