Drew Barrymore's interview with US Vice President Kamala Harris sparked controversy as Kamala was asked to become the "Mamala" of the country, drawing criticism for perceived racial and gender insensitivity.
In a clip uploaded on Monday (April 29) of Drew’s daytime talk show, The Drew Barrymore Show, the 49-year-old actress asked the American VP if she could be a mother to the USA.
Highlights
- Drew Barrymore's 'Mamala' comment to VP Kamala Harris was criticized for insensitivity.
- Controversy erupted over Drew's interview style and closeness to Kamala.
- Critics called out a trend of treating politicians as parental figures.
"I've been thinking that we really all need a tremendous hug in the world right now," Drew said, "but in our country, we need you to be Mamala of the country."
"Yeah," the 59-year-old politician responded, laughing.
The segment quickly became a viral sensation on the internet, with thousands of people weighing in on X (formerly known as Twitter), as a person wrote: “Drew Girl!
“Did you just ask the VP, Madam Vice President, Thee Kamala Harris to basically be this country’s mama?!?!?
Drew Barrymore's interview with US Vice President Kamala Harris sparked controversy amid her "Mamala" remark
Image credits: thedrewbarrymoreshow
Image credits: thedrewbarrymoreshow
Fox News political analyst Will Cain argued: “Howard Stern refers to Joe Biden as the ‘Father of the Country.’
“Drew Barrymore says Kamala needs to be our ‘Momala.’
“Who exactly is in a cult? These people aren’t looking for a leader they’re looking for surrogate parents.”
Will was referring to US President Joe Biden’s interview with Howard Stern, the nation’s best-known shock jock, on Friday (April 26).
During an exchange, Howard told Joe: “I know you’d be a good father to the country, and I want to thank you for providing a calming, influential, and organized administration,” as per The New York Times.
People questioned a trend of likening political leaders, such as Joe Biden and Kamala Harris, to parental figures
Image credits: thedrewbarrymoreshow
Def Comedy Jam comedian Vincent Oshana also commented on Drew’s conversation with Kamala, saying: “Apparently ‘Cackling Kamala Harris’ thinks people love to talk about the way she laughs.
“We don’t. We just have to point out how annoying it is. She sounds like a hyena.
“And why is Drew Barrymore sitting so close to her?
“She might as well straddle her and get it over with.”
Image credits: The Drew Barrymore Show
The Charlie’s Angels star is known for her intimate interviewing style, often getting physically close with her talk show guests. Just last Friday, she approached Dua Lipa closely on stage.
"I love every human being on the planet, I’m fascinated and everyone has a story and every person is exceptional and interesting.
"And it is so fun to literally get to be a conversationalist at work. It’s the coolest thing in the world."
"But in our country, we need you to be Mamala of the country," Drew told Kamala
Image credits: The Drew Barrymore Show
However, the actress’ up-close approach on her talk show with the vice president drew backlash amid racial bias accusations, as an X user penned: “idk, something about the way Drew got all up in Kamala's space to ask her, a Black woman, to essentially be this country's mammy.
“It is not sitting right in my spirit.
“[White] women do this shit all the time and it's gross and I'm exhausted.”
A separate individual chimed in: “I expect no apologies or regret from Drew Barrymore regarding the disastrous #Mamala comment during her interview with Vice President Kamala Harris.
“White women freely patronize Black women even if they’re elected 2nd in line to be President.
“Whether it's intentional or not.”
You can watch Kamala's segment with Drew below:
Meanwhile, Stephanie Cutter, the former advisor to former US President Barack Obama, wrote on X: "I couldn't love this more. @VP has her mother's laugh, isn't going to change it because of 'criticism' and tells young women in the audience 'don't be confined by other people's perception...of how you should act in order to be.'
"Vice President Kamala Harris Tells Drew Barrymore 'I Have My Mother's Laugh.'"
During her segment on the show, Kamala spoke with Drew about the importance of never letting "anybody take your power" and being intentional in understanding "what is in your power" before turning to comments about her laugh.
"You were asking me earlier about what it means to be like the first woman," the California native later said. "And you know, it's funny because people still gotta get used to this, right?"
The Golden Globe award winner went on to inform the VP that she loved her laugh.
The segment drew a lot of mockery and criticism on social media
Kamala is the first female vice president and the highest-ranking female official in US history, as well as the first African-American and first Asian-American vice president.
Before she was announced as the vice president-elect, Kamala was the district attorney of San Francisco, Women’s Republic reported. She then became the attorney general in the same state.
She went on to become elected to the US Senate of California. During office, she introduced a lot of programs to help and better the community.
The women empowerment platform further noted that the stance on a lot of the political issues that Kamala was against during her time in office was different from when she campaigned for the election.
Her long and impressive career in politics wasn’t immune to some controversy, as exemplified by her recent claims to be opposed to the death penalty but continuing to seek capital punishment in federal cases while serving as San Francisco’s DA.
During her time as attorney general of California, Kamala was adopting harsher punishments for the state’s truancy law (requiring children of certain ages to attend school regularly).
Her campaign to bring a harsher version of truancy meant that if a child missed school consistently several times without a valid excuse, the parent or guardian of the child would be fined $2,500 or one year in jail, according to Women’s Republic.
The policy resulted in the arrest of Cheree Peoples in 2013, whose daughter was missing school because of sickle cell anemia, HuffPost reported.
"Drew was too far into her personal space," a reader commented
