Drew Barrymore Worried About Tarnishing Kamala Harris’ Reputation

Drew Barrymore didn’t want her interview with Kamala Harris to affect the vice president’s political standing.

Barrymore, who hosts her own self-titled daytime talk show, spoke about her interview with Harris during a conversation at the Paley Center on Monday with moderator Nate Burleson.

According to Entertainment Weekly, she wanted her conversation with Harris to be a “personal experience” where the VP could “take the armor off” and discuss things other than the big issues. She explained that she didn’t want to be the one to “screw up this woman’s path.”

The interview took place in April, months before Joe Biden withdrew from the presidential race and Harris took his place. In it, the two talked about marriage, co-parenting, her signature laugh, and her experience as the first woman vice president. In typical Barrymore fashion, the Charlie’s Angels actress sat very close to Harris during their conversation.

“I was like, if I tarnish this woman… I wanted to see her be fun and disarmed, but I was like, what if I do one thing that’s goofy and she plays along, and I’ve led her down a bad path?” Barrymore said. “How do you get so personal? I’ve never… that’s the scariest conversation I’ve done on the entire show’s history,” she continued before adding that these worries made her “sick to my stomach.”

Barrymore told Burleson that she regards their conversation as “one of the most ignited, exciting experiences” and called their connection “electric.”

At the time of its airing, Barrymore got flack from those who found her dubbing Harris as “Momala” cringy and demeaning. “I keep thinking in my head that we all need a mom. I’ve been thinking we really all need a tremendous hug in the world right now, but in our country, we need you to be Momala of the country,” Barrymore said during their April interview.