
Joan Baez Awkwardly Mispronounces Kamala Harris' Name While Promoting VP's Campaign in Odd Interview

Joan Baez is an 83-year-old folk singer.
Sept. 19 2024, Published 1:39 p.m. ET
Folk singer and activist Joan Baez repeatedly flubbed Vice President Kamala Harris' name during her Thursday, September 19, appearance on Morning Joe.
Despite being an outspoken Harris-Walz supporter and fundraising for their campaign by selling 500 prints of her beautiful painting of the VP, Baez, 83, just could not seem to get her name right.

Joan Baez appeared on the Thursday, September 19, episode of 'Morning Joe.'
The mistakes occurred as Baez speculated on the effect having a woman as POTUS could potentially have on the country.
"People have always talked about the possibility of a woman feeling more of that…they’re able to sense that sorrow and sadness and attempt to do something about it in a way that really just, you know, dismisses the violence and does it another way," she said.

Joan Baez mispronounced Kamala Harris' name twice in a row.
Baez then said, "And in Pamela’s, Kamela’s case," she corrected herself, but pronounced the name "CAMEL-UH" as she did, "It would be talking with talking with diplomats and bringing in the real feelings that are allowed when you’re doing diplomacy for a country that’s struggling, you know, and with violence to hold itself down or to to demolish somebody else."

Joan Baez is currently fundraising for the Harris-Walz campaign.
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As OK! previously reported, Harris has been vocal about the correct pronunciation of her name after repeated gaffes. In a video from 2016, Harris explained her name was not said "CAM-EL-UH," "KUH-MAHL-UH" or "KARMEL-UH."
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Kamala Harris was endorsed by President Joe Biden in July.
In her memoir, she also wrote: "[M]y name is pronounced ‘comma-la,’ like the punctuation mark. It means ‘lotus flower,’ which is a symbol of significance in Indian culture."
Donald Trump has also flubbed her name — although some believe he is doing it purposely after making the mistake several times in a row at a July rally.
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Jean Sinzdak, who serves as the associate director of the Center for American Women and Politics at Rutgers University, suggested: "It's one thing to mispronounce someone's name on the first try, right? But to do it repeatedly and deliberately, it feels purposeful. It's certainly done to make a point. It is othering, a way of saying you don't belong here."