United Kingdom, June 5 -- Michelle Obama says her daughter was trying to "distinguish" herself by dropping her family surname.

The 60-year-old former US First Lady has daughters Malia, 26, and Sasha, 23, with her ex-president husband Barack Obama, and their eldest ditched the Obama surname so it would not appear in the credits of a short film she was working on, as criticism of "nepo babies" continues to rage.

Speaking on the 'Sibling Revelry' podcast with hosts Kate Hudson, 45, and her older brother Oliver Hudson, 48, Michelle said:

"Where do we begin? Our daughters are 26 and 23, they are young adult women.

"But they definitely went through a period in their teen years. it was the 'push away'.

"They're still doing that, and you guy...