Talk Show Host Montel Williams Revealed He and Vice-President Elect Kamala Harris Were In A Relationship Many Years Ago, Says He Has Great Respect For Her

Now that she’s officially the Vice President-elect, Kamala Harris’ rise through politics has been astronomical. She’s built a career upon being the first and it’s clear she has no intent of stopping once she takes office. The HBCU grad and Alpha Kappa Alpha has had an illustrious career thus far and as a result, she’s met a lot of people on her way to the top – including talk show host Montel Williams.

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A post shared by Kamala Harris (@kamalaharris) on Nov 9, 2020 at 1:46pm PST

Though Kamala Harris is now married to Doug Emhoff, the soon-to-be Second Gentleman, her marriage is relatively new — with the two getting wed in 2014. Over the years in California, her high posts have of course given her a bit of celebrity, as she’s also made a lot of historical firsts in the state’s hallways of power. Along with her high-profile appointments has come a lot of scrutiny and though she’s been single most of her life, there were a few relationships that turned heads over the years.

While normally the focus would be upon a candidate’s policies and viewpoints, with Kamala being such a different candidate, other aspects of her life have come into play during the public discourse. While she was running for President, even more scrutiny was applied to not just her policies that some don’t agree with, but the right wing also made inroads into trying to slander her because of her previous dating life.

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A post shared by Kamala Harris (@kamalaharris) on Nov 8, 2020 at 5:02pm PST

Harris’ very presence in politics has been disruptive in California, as she swept the board continuously while ascending the state’s highest corridors of power. Being a Black woman has only heightened her continued success, by giving her the additional power and claim of being “first” for a lot of things.

Harris was the first Black woman to be elected district attorney in California history, first woman to be California’s attorney general, first Indian American senator, and now, the first Black woman and first Asian American to be picked as a vice presidential running mate on a major-party ticket. In 2020, that is still a lot of firsts for one person.

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A post shared by Kamala Harris (@kamalaharris) on Nov 3, 2020 at 1:43pm PST

One of her higher profile relationships no doubt helped her as she moved along through her career, notably with much older ex-Mayor of San Francisco, Willie Brown. Though there’s a considerable age difference between them, the two dated 20 years ago for a time until he was elected for Mayor.

Though some on the right have accused Harris of cronyism, she herself told the San Francisco Weekly in 2003 while running for San Francisco District Attorney that Brown didn’t “control” anything about her.

“I refuse,” she says vehemently, “to design my campaign around criticizing Willie Brown for the sake of appearing to be independent when I have no doubt that I am independent of him — and that he would probably right now express some fright about the fact that he cannot control me.

“His career is over; I will be alive and kicking for the next 40 years. I do not owe him a thing.”

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A post shared by Kamala Harris (@kamalaharris) on Oct 6, 2020 at 2:03pm PDT

That being said, her time with Brown, who was once dubbed one of the 10 Sexiest Men in America in 1984, was not as exciting in some people’s eyes as the fact that Kamala Harris once dated talk show host Montel Williams, famous for his hit talk show The Montel Williams Show, which won him a Daytime Emmy Award during the successful show’s run.

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A post shared by Montel Williams (@montel_williams) on Nov 6, 2020 at 12:45pm PST

It’s a small anachronism in her very successful career but still a random pop culture fact that many find to be very hilarious. Last year, he wrote on Twitter, “Kamala Harris and I briefly dated about 20 years ago when we were both single. So what? I have great respect for Sen. Harris.”