Drew Barrymore Reveals Cringey Viral Interview With Kamala Harris Was the ‘Scariest Conversation I’ve Done’

Screenshot via Drew Barrymore Show YouTube

Drew Barrymore provided some inside details about her interview with Vice President Kamala Harris that went viral for all the wrong reasons.

While speaking at the Paley Center for Media on Monday, Barrymore shared that her April 2024 conversation with Harris that drew widespread criticism and was called “cringey” made her feel “sick to her stomach” because she was so afraid of doing something to “tarnish” Harris’s reputation:

Entertainment Weekly reported on Barrymore’s comments (the video from the event was not posted as of this writing):

“All I kept thinking was, if you do one thing to screw up this woman’s path — and you are the clown to do it — and if you do one thing that makes her look bad, or becomes a gap, or just does something to… [interviewing] is such an art,” 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, “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? That was making me so sick to my stomach, but I wasn’t going to give up trying to [do it].”

But apparently, Harris was game for the interview, whatever direction it took:

“As we say, she came to play,” moderator Nate Burleson added. To which Barrymore responded, “She really did. And it was an electric connection. It was one of the most ignited, exciting experiences of my life, and it was about something that she lives every day, which is how to not get it wrong.”

Barrymore, who tends to get touchy-feely with her guests, was criticized for saying: “I keep thinking in my head that we all need a mom. I’ve been thinking that 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.” Harris had discussed the name “Momala,” which is how her stepchildren refer to her, but Barrymore’s emotionality seemed to cross a line with some.