Montel Williams is shutting down false narratives that he once paraded Vice President Kamala Harris as one of his “side chicks” more than two decades ago.
Following news of her 2024 presidential bid, photos and videos of her and the former talk show host on the red carpet of a charity event began to recirculate.
Current commander-in-chief Joe Biden ended his re-election campaign on Sunday, July 21, amid growing concerns about his well-being and ability to secure a win against Republican opponent Donald Trump, who is eyeing a second term four years after losing the presidency to Biden in 2020.
Biden, along with several other high-ranking Democrats, have endorsed Harris as a replacement in the hotly watched election cycle.
Far-right political commentator Laura Loomer piggybacked on the political spectacle in an attempt to exploit Harris’ dating past as proof of being a morally corrupt individual unfit to take over the Oval Office.
She tweeted, “Did you know that @KamalaHarris was once an escort and that she got her career started giving blow jobs to successful, rich, black men? She sucked Willie Brown’s penis while he was a married man in exchange for political power.”
Along with sharing the video of Montel holding hands with his then-girlfriend and his daughter, Ashley Lynn Williams, Loomer wrote, “Here she is ‘dating’ @Montel_Williams in 2001, who appears to be holding hands with more than one woman at the same time on the red carpet. You can see Kamala has had no issue being a side piece, escort, and all around hoe over her ‘career.’”
She concluded, “We already have enough political wh0res in Washington DC occupying Congress. We don’t need a real wh0re in the White House.”
The two briefly dated in 2001, when they showed up alongside Montel’s daughter, Sydney Jordan, and posed for photos. His daughter has routinely been misidentified as a romantic companion by those sensationalizing the public appearance.
Kamala Harris & Montell Williams (2001) pic.twitter.com/xok9YUe8j7
— $ (@2000sphase) July 21, 2024
Montel previously acknowledged their romantic past in 2019. At the time their courtship, she was working for San Francisco City Attorney Louise Renne. Her tenure as a California district attorney began in 2004.
He noticed that he had been mentioned in Loomer’s message detracting support from Harris and responded with a retweet that read, “As most of you know, that is my daughter to my right, and I’ve asked @LauraLoomer not to target my kids who aren’t public figures. She keeps hiding my tweet.”
Williams also doubled down on backing the vice president’s pursuit of the presidency when he screenshotted his repost of Maryland Gov. Wes Moore endorsing Harris’ campaign.
As most of you know, that is my daughter to my right and I’ve asked @LauraLoomer not to target my kids who aren’t public figures. She keeps hiding my tweet. https://t.co/TUeKvVzVdg
— Montel Williams (@Montel_Williams) July 22, 2024
“Is anyone surprised I am interested in a politician who also went to the Naval Academy and whose leadership has impressed me?” he continued in another post.
Wanting to get her page deactivated, WIlliams, tagging both Elon Musk and X CEO Linda Yaccarino, added, “Well, @elonmusk @lindayaX finally put @LauraLoomer lin twitter jail. Elon, I love you, but there is a reason you can’t get normal advertisers on this platform – you let behavior like this go on.”
Still, critics felt that the bigger issue, Harris’ sexual past, had not been defended.
“How about clearing up the escort part too,” tweeted one Twitter user. Someone else who believed the defamatory claims did not need to be addressed wrote that Montel provided the appropriate context to the circulated photos and videos. “Thanks for clearing this up . I think a lot of people had this image all messed up and it’s sad,” wrote his supporter.
How 29-year-old Kamala Harris began an affair with powerful San Francisco politician Willie Brown, then 60 and married, who appointed her to two lucrative positions only to dump her after he was voted first black mayor of the city https://t.co/b0UlFsk3z0
— Laura Loomer (@LauraLoomer) July 22, 2024
Several others weighing in on the topic ridiculed Loomer and hoped that Montel would “sue her.” One user declared, “She’s a racist disgusting human being.”
The Trump supporter was unfazed by the backlash though, as she followed up with another tweet reiterating her claims of Harris being in a relationship with former San Francisco Mayor Willie Brown to jumpstart her political career.
In August, the Democratic delegation will vote on whether or not Harris’ name will be on the ballot as their presidential candidate in November. If elected to the nation’s highest office, she would make history again, this time as the first Black and Asian female president, the same firsts that apply to her vice presidency.
