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