Kangana slams trolls calling Kamala Harris 'high-end call girl'
Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MP Kangana Ranaut has condemned the sexist memes circulating about United States Vice President Kamala Harris. The wave of online misogyny emerged following President Joe Biden's withdrawal from the presidential race and subsequent endorsement of Harris. Sharing one such meme calling Harris a "high-end call girl" from the 1990s, Ranaut wrote, "These Americans think they are modern and all but they are so regressive, worse than Indians to be honest. Shame."
Ranaut expresses disapproval of sexist memes on Instagram
"I don't support Democrats but it's amusing even in America an elderly woman politician who has been attorney general of California has to face sexism to this extent," she wrote. Other memes about Harris involving coconouts have also been floating around social media since Biden endorsed her. The coconut meme originated from a speech Harris gave in May 2023 but resurfaced again recently.
'Coconut' meme originates from Harris's childhood anecdote
During the speech, she shared a childhood anecdote about her mother at a White House event. She said, "My mother used to—she would give us a hard time sometimes, and she would say to us, 'I don't know what's wrong with you young people. You think you just fell out of a coconut tree?' You exist in the context of all in which you live and what came before you." This phrase became an instant meme even among her supporters.
Harris wins enough delegates to become presidential nominee
As of Tuesday, Harris had secured enough Democratic delegates to win the party's presidential nomination against Republican Donald Trump. According to the Associated Press, Harris has already received more than the 1,976 pledged delegates she needs to win the nomination in the first round. The vice president is endorsed by a majority of delegates ahead of voting at the Democratic National Convention in August.
