Kamala Harris-Tupac Shakur Timeline Controversy

Overview

Kamala Harris-Tupac Shakur Timeline Controversy refers to a public reaction to presidential candidate Senator Kamala Harris saying that she listened to rappers Snoop Dogg and Tupac Shakur in college, despite her college education pre-dating their first album releases.

Background

On February 11th, 2019, Senator Harris appeared on The Breakfast Club radio show. During the interview, Harris admitted to smoking cannabis in college. When asked what she music she listened to at the time, she responded, "Definitely Snoop. Tupac, for sure." A video of the interview was uploaded to YouTube that day, where it received more than 315,000 views in two days (shown below).

Developments

Online Reaction

That day, Twitter^[1] user @joshieecs tweeted, "Kamala Harris claims to have smoked pot in college while listening to Tupac and Snoop. Tupac's first album came out in 1991. Snoop's first album came out in 1993. Kamala Harris graduated college in 1986." The tweet received more than 18,000 retweets and 38,000 likes in two days (shown below, left).

The user followed the post with^[2] "This may seem petty, but if she was smoking in the 90's, it means she was throwing poor and brown kids into jail on drug charges, then going home to break the same laws herself. That's not just unfair, it's unethical professional conduct for a prosecutor. It merits scrutiny." The tweet received more than 3,600 retweets and 12,000 likes in 24 hours (shown below, center).

Twitter user @IanSams defended Harris, claiming that the reaction had been overblown. They tweeted,^[3] "The rightwing is so desperate to attack @KamalaHarris they're trying to make Reefergate happen. @djenvy asked what she listened to. @cthagod made a pot joke. Then she answered @djenvy's question. This really isn't that complicated. Just watch."

Twitter^[4] user @tomangell responded to the tweet defending Harris, stating that it did not answer all questions. They wrote, "Harris spox says her reminiscing Snoop & Tupac was in response to general Q about music she likes, not to narrower Q on what she listened to while consuming cannabis. BUT doesn’t square with the fact that seconds later, follow-up Q asked,'What do you listen to now?' Cardi B. Within two days, the post received more than 100 retweets and 390 likes (shown below).

Many conservative commentators and activists, such as Tomi Lohren and Jack Posobiec weighed in as well, criticizing Harris (shown below, left and right).

Media Coverage

Some critics noted that the controversy had been used as a way "to stoke divisions surrounding her candidacy, branding her as inauthentic and manufactured particularly on issues of race and identity."^[5] Twitter^[6] user @LisPower1 tweeted a screenshot of Fox News' coverage of the interview, writing "How is this real life" (shown below).

Harris Response

While she did not address the controversy regarding the music, Harris tweeted^[7] her support for marijuana legalization. She tweeted, "Let me be clear: it’s time we legalized marijuana at the federal level. Marijuana laws are not applied or enforced in the same way for all Americans, many whose lives have been ruined by these regressive policies. We must change the system." The tweet received more than 13,000 retweets and 72,000 likes in two days (shown below).

Search Interest

External References