Harris addresses criticism of her laugh: ‘Don’t be confined to other people’s perception’
(The Hill) — Vice President Kamala Harris opened up about criticism over her laugh in an upcoming interview.
Harris, in an interview with “The Drew Barrymore Show” that will air Monday, acknowledged that people often like to make fun of public figures when they trip or fall, and then mentioned the talk about how she laughs.
“You were asking me earlier about what it means to be, like, the first woman. And, you know, it’s funny, because people still got to get used to this, right?” Harris said in the clip, obtained by Mediaite.
“I mean, my staff, for example, sometimes they’ll show me little things that just amuse me,” she continued. “Like, apparently, some people love to talk about the way I laugh.”
The vice president elaborated, saying the women in her life would sit around the kitchen table telling stories and were always laughing.
Because of this, she said, she would never be the type of person who would restrict her laughter.
“Let me tell you something,” Harris told host Drew Barrymore. “I have my mother’s laugh. And I grew up around a bunch of women in particular who laugh from the belly.”
“I’m not that person,” she said, providing advice to others who struggle with criticism.
“And I think it’s really important for us to remind each other and our younger ones, don’t be confined to other people’s perception about what this looks like, and … how you should act in order to be right,” Harris said.
The full interview, centered on her experience over the last four years in the White House as the first female vice president, will air Monday on “The Drew Barrymore Show.”