Montel Williams woke up Monday morning to a series of tweets about his brief relationship with presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris, whom he expressed support for by retweeting Maryland Governor Wes Moore’s resounding endorsement.
Things started after self-described investigative journalist/right wing influencer Laura Loomer (whose anti-Muslim views are seen as a liability for Trump even within his own campaign staff) tweeted a photo of them on a night out and captioned it, “Did you know that @KamalaHarris was once an escort and that she got her career started giving b–jobs to successful, rich, Black men? She sucked Willie Brown’s p–s while he was a married man in exchange [for] political power.”
The tweet, which has given limited visibility after it was flagged for potential “hateful content,” continued, “Here she is dating @Montel_Williams in 2001, who appears to be holding hands with more than one woman at the same time on the red carpet.”
Harris and Williams were in a brief relationship in 2001, during which they attended a film premiere alongside Williams’ daughter — the second woman in the aforementioned photo.
Williams was quick to reply to Loomer’s accusation. He tweeted in response, “As most of you know, that is my daughter to my right and I’ve asked @LauraLoomer not to target my kids who aren’t public figures. She keeps hiding my tweet.”
Williams also welcomed the decision to flag Loomer’s offensive tweet, but chided X boss Elon Musk for allowing messages such as what she wrote on the platform in the first place.
He wrote, “Well, @elonmusk @lindayaX finally put @LauraLoomer in twitter jail. Elon, I love you, but there is a reason you can’t get normal advertisers on this platform — you let behavior like this go on.”
Undeterred, Loomer fired back, writing, “Everything I said about @KamalaHarris is true. You might not like the way I say it, but everything I said is true. Show me the lie.”
Loomer later said she was “being censored” after X locked her initial tweet. She wrote in part, “Unreal. This is arguably Election interference by big tech. @elonmusk The American people deserve to know about the character flaws of Kamala Harris, which includes her history of sexual affairs with married men and radical leftists who she has dated.”
Ultimately, Loomer blocked him on X. “I really hope you get the help you need. Be well,” Williams wrote, before calling her a “snowflake.”
The exchange appeared to catch the eye of right wing host Megyn Kelly, who further insisted, “[Harris] actually did sleep her way into and upwards in California politics and most women (and men) may learn that and see it for what it is: evidence of an unqualified political aspirant getting ahead based on [something] other than merit.”
Williams quickly replied again, writing, “Disappointed in you … I have always had a good relationship with Megyn and that will be true tomorrow. I just think this particular tweet was disappointing.”
Loomer’s tweet isn’t the first time the relationship between Williams and Harris has been thrust into public discourse. In 2019, Inside Edition shared a clip from the premiere in question, which prompted social media commentators to spread rumors that Harris was Williams’ “side piece,” similarly to Loomer’s uninspired take.
At the time, Williams tweeted, “@KamalaHarris and I briefly dated about 20 years ago when we were both single. So what? I have great respect for Sen. Harris. I have to wonder if the same stories about her dating history would have been written if she were a male candidate?”
In addition to her relationship with Williams, Loomer also attacked Harris’ relationship with former San Francisco mayor Willie Brown, the first Black man or woman elected to the post in the city.
“How 29-year-old Kamala Harris began an affair with powerful San Francisco politician Willie Brown, then 60 and married, who appointed her to two lucrative positions only to dump her after he was voted first Black mayor of the city,” she captioned a post that linked to a Daily Mail article.
Brown married Blanche Vitero in 1958. They separated in 1982, and he and Harris dated from 1994-95. Harris was the assistant district attorney in Alameda County at the time. He also appointed Harris to two positions in that timeframe: a six-month-long role on the California Unemployment Insurance Appeals Board and a role at the Medical Assistance Commission.
Harris and Brown’s relationship was reexamined in 2019 during the former’s presidential campaign run ahead of 2020. At the time, Los Angeles Magazine reported that Harris ended the relationship before Brown won his mayoral race.
Loomer is a questionable figure in right wing politics, even among Trump’s most ardent supporters. A twice-failed Congressional candidate in her own right — she ran against Florida Republican Rep. Dan Webster in 2022 and Democrat Lois Frankel in 2020 — Loomer is known for parroting conspiracy theories about the Parkland High School shooting in Florida and has been banned from some social media platforms for her political views.
In April 2023, the New York Times reported that Trump asked aides to offer Loomer a role in his campaign. The request never came to fruition, as some on his team had concerns “that such a hire would cause a backlash, given her history of inflammatory statements and her embrace of the Republican Party’s fringes.”
Misinformation about Harris’ personal life once again began to proliferate on social media in the hours following President Biden’s resignation and endorsement of his vice president.
Meanwhile, Trump was convicted of sexually assaulting author E. Jean Carroll in 2023. In May, the GOP candidate was also convicted of paying adult entertainment star Stormy Daniels with campaign funds to cover up their affair. Harris has been married to Doug Emhoff since 2014.
