Drew Barrymore's Nickname For Kamala Harris Is Totally Backfiring
A clip from Drew Barrymore's talk show "The Drew Barrymore Show" is going viral for all the wrong reasons. In April 2024, Barrymore interviewed Vice President Kamala Harris. During the discussion, the subject of step-parents came up. Barrymore talked about her own family dynamic since she and her ex, Will Kopelman, co-parent with his wife, Allie Michler. Harris then talked about meeting her husband Doug Emhoff's kids for the first time and divulged that instead of calling her their stepmom, they call her "Momala." Harris also said she has a friendly relationship with Doug's ex-wife, Kerstin Emhoff.
Later in the interview, Barrymore said, "I keep thinking in my head that we all need a mom; I've been thinking that we all need a tremendous hug in the world right now. But in our country, we need you to be 'Momala' of the country." Harris smiled while the crowd applauded, but she perhaps seemed a little awkward.
People on X, formerly known as Twitter, weren't too pleased with Barrymore's usage of the "Momala" moniker. One person tweeted the clip, saying, "Drew Barrymore has lost her mind."
Many were displeased with the 'Momala' comment for various reasons
There were plenty more critics of Drew Barrymore calling Kamala Harris "Momala" on her show. Writer Michael Harriot retweeted the video and said, "Every Black person has been in this position, stuck with a well-meaning white person who SWORE they was spittin. Tell me about when it happened to you." Many people in the replies to Harriot's tweet expressed disdain at Barrymore equating Harris' role as vice president to a maternal role, bringing up the racist "mammy" stereotype. According to the Jim Crow Museum, "The mammy caricature implied that black women were only fit to be domestic workers; thus, the stereotype became a rationalization for economic discrimination."
Every Black person has been in this position, stuck with a well-meaning white person who SWORE they was spittin
Tell me about when it happened to you https://t.co/vlNlmtrgim
— Michael Harriot (@michaelharriot) April 30, 2024
Others criticizing Barrymore brought up other mistakes she's made with her talk show. One X user wrote, "Remember when Drew Barrymore broke the writers strike? Now she wants Kamala to be the 'Momala' of America. She should never be taken seriously ever again. Cringy scab." Another brought the 2024 election into it when they suggested, "Drew Barrymore has helped Trump a lot. Hope she keeps it going."
Some people didn't bring up the "Momala" thing but pointed out one of Barrymore's quirks. Referencing how close Barrymore gets to the people she interviews, an X user shared a photo of cartoon character Spongebob Squarepants laying on Squidward Tentacles. The photo was captioned, "Drew Barrymore with every guest on her show."