Who is Natalie Jasmine Harris? All about young filmmaker accusing Malia Obama of plagiarising Nike Ad

Malia Obama is facing plagiarism allegations from filmmaker Natalie Jasmine Harris. The latter penned an X post to detail the similarities between her 2024 Sundance short film, Grace, and Nike’s recent commercial, directed by the former. Harris shared pictures from her short and an ad for A’ja Wilson’s signature shoe while writing:

"Been sitting with this for a while. My Sundance short film GRACE (shot brilliantly by Tehillah de Castro) was made with deep love and care. The social cut of the new @Nike commercial directed by Malia Obama (who was also at Sundance my year) feels shockingly similar to my work…"

According to her IMDb page, Natalie Jasmine Harris has directed four more short films other than Grace: Ben in Bloom (2024), The Small Things (2021), Pure (2021), and Metamorphosis (2018). Per the young filmmaker’s LinkedIn, she earned her high school diploma from Foxcroft School and later attended American University.

Harris is an alumnus of New York University (NYU), where she got her Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA). She majored in Film and Television from Tisch School of the Arts, while her minor course was Anthropology. Natalie, a queer filmmaker, hails from Maryland and is a Sundance Ignite Fellow (2024/2025), associated with Sundance Institute.

Natalie Jasmine Harris’s NYU thesis short, Pure, was honored with The Directors Guild of America's Student Film Award, and later, HBO MAX acquired it. She has been a part of different artist programs, such as "Film at Lincoln Center, GLAAD, and Outfest," while working with media brands like Vogue, Vanity Fair, and more.

Natalie Jasmine Harris called out brands for not hiring “from the source”

The NYU alumnus recently posted about the alleged similarities between her short Grace and Malia Obama-directed Teaching the Pro Nike commercial. Natalie provided a side-by-side comparison of both projects in which two black girls sit on a house's porch and engage in hand-clapping games.

While the narrative and context are different in both films, Harris seemingly highlighted the aesthetics and shots that look pretty similar to comparable houses and cinematography for the porch sequence. She acknowledged that "art often overlaps," but displayed her disappointment for not receiving recognition for her work.

Natalie Jasmine Harris called out the brands, including Nike, for ignoring the original creators, as she wrote:

"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? @Nike @_ajawilson22."

After her X post went viral, Harris also received support from many internet users in the replies. She encouraged interested netizens to check out Grace on Vimeo and later reshared the posts via her Instagram handle.

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For those unaware, Grace premiered last year at the Sundance Film Festival. The short, written, directed, and produced by Harris, is set in the '50s and tells a coming-of-age story of Black best friends while exploring their queer identity.

In a conversation with Sundance Institute, Natalie Jasmine Harris named Eve's Bayou, The Color Purple (novel), and Daughters of the Dust as inspirations behind her 2024 short film.

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