Malia Obama‘s recent Nike ad with WNBA star A’ja Wilson’ received high praise for redefining sneaker culture in a fresh way. Now, the eldest daughter of Barack and Michelle Obama is accused of copying an independent filmmaker’s work. 

Natalie Jasmine Harris made the claims in a Business Insider as-told-to essay on May 16. Harris created a 14-minute short film, Grace, about a “Black Southern Gothic short about a girl who’s being baptized and questioning her feelings for her best friend.” The filmmaker had crossed paths with Malia at the 2024 Sundance Film Festival where they each had films in competition.