New York University graduate Natalie Jasmine Harris has accused Malia Obama of replicating elements from her 2024 Sundance short film, Grace, in a recent Nike advertisement directed by Obama. The ad, promoting WNBA star A’ja Wilson’s A’One signature shoe, features scenes that Harris claims closely mirror her own work.
Harris highlighted similarities between a scene in Grace, where two young Black women play a hand game on their front steps, and a segment in the Nike ad showing Wilson engaging in a similar activity with a young girl. She emphasized that the composition, framing, and color grading in both pieces are strikingly alike. Harris noted that both she and Obama premiered their respective films at the 2024 Sundance Film Festival, suggesting a potential overlap in creative exposure.
In a social media post, Harris expressed her frustration: “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?”
Harris further addressed criticisms by clarifying that her concerns are not about the use of a common hand game but about the specific cinematic choices that she believes were replicated. She stated, “It’s the framing, composition, editing, etc. Cinematic choices that are uncannily similar to the visual language in my short film.”
As of now, neither Malia Obama nor Nike has publicly responded to Harris’s allegations.
