Drew Barrymore has social media up in arms over her recent sitdown with Vice President Kamala Harris, where she asked the VP to be the nation’s “Momala.”
The Vice President appeared on The Drew Barrymore Show on Monday, April 29, where Barrymore made an emotional plea for Harris to become the mother to the country.
“I’ve been thinking that we really all need a tremendous hug in the world right now,” Barrymore said. “but in our country, we need you to be Mamala of the country.”
“Yeah,” Harris responded with a laugh.
Barrymore went on to do her signature grab of the hands with her show guest which only made viewers “cringe” even more.
“CRINGE. STRAIGHT INTO MY VEINS,” one user wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter.
“Did you see Kamala’s face 🤣🤣🤣,” added someone else.
A different conversation was being held on Black Twitter where many expressed their offense with Barrymore’s request to Harris and took it as her asking for the VP to be the “Mammy” to the United States.
“She really sat up there and asked the Vice President of the United States to be everyone’s Black Mammy,” one person wrote.
“People really still want black women to be the “mammy” of the country. It’s unbelievable,” another user added.
The term’s origins date back to slavery when Black women were made to care for white children. The American Dictionary of Regional English traces the etymological roots of the word to a blending of “ma’am” and “mamma.”
Considering the history of Black women serving motherly roles to white children, Barrymore’s request to the first Black woman Vice President could be taken out of context.
Elsewhere in the interview, Harris addressed criticism she’s received over her laugh, due to the instances where she reportedly laughed in response to questions about the border crisis and the importance of female leadership.
“You were asking me earlier about what it means to be like the first woman,” Harris said. “And you know, it’s funny because people still gotta get used to this, right?”
Barrymore responded by telling Harris
how much she loves her laugh.RELATED CONTENT: Drew Barrymore Draws Criticism For Touchy Interview With Oprah