You’ve probably seen the photo. It’s grainier than a 2001 digital camera should allow, featuring a very young, smiling Kamala Harris standing next to the king of daytime talk, Montel Williams. Every few years, like clockwork, it bubbles up from the depths of the internet as if it’s some "gotcha" moment or a buried secret from a political thriller. Honestly? It’s a lot less scandalous and a lot more human than the memes suggest.
The internet has a funny way of making a brief dating history feel like a deep-state conspiracy. But when we look at Kamala Harris with Montel Williams, we’re basically just looking at two successful, single people who went to a party together twenty-five years ago.
The Night at the Century Plaza Hotel
Let's set the scene. It’s May 18, 2001. The location is the Century Plaza Hotel in Century City, California. The event? The Eighth Annual Race to Erase MS gala. This wasn't some back-alley meeting; it was a high-profile charity event filled with cameras and celebrities.
At the time, Kamala Harris wasn't the Vice President. She wasn't even the District Attorney of San Francisco yet. She was working in the San Francisco City Attorney's Office, specializing in neighborhood and community issues. She was a rising star in the legal world, sure, but she wasn't a household name. Montel Williams, on the other hand, was at the peak of his The Montel Williams Show fame.
They walked the red carpet together, but they weren't alone. If you look at the uncropped versions of those famous photos, you’ll see a third person: Ashley Williams, Montel’s daughter. The three of them posed for the paparazzi, smiling and looking like they were having a decent enough time at a fundraiser.
Why the photo keeps coming back
People love a mystery, even when there isn't one. The photo usually resurfaces during election cycles. In 2019, when Harris was running for the Democratic nomination, the image went viral. It happened again in 2020 when she was tapped for VP, and again in 2024.
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The "controversy" is often manufactured by people trying to paint Harris in a certain light. They use the photo to imply she was part of the "Hollywood elite" or to distract from her policy record. But the reality is much more mundane. They were two people in their 30s and 40s who had a short-lived romance.
Montel Sets the Record Straight
For a long time, Harris didn't say a word about it. Why would she? It was a brief blip in her past. But Montel Williams eventually got tired of the whispers. In 2019, he took to Twitter (now X) to clear the air with a level of bluntness that only a former Marine could pull off.
"Kamala Harris and I briefly dated about 20 years ago when we were both single. So what? I have great respect for Sen. Harris."
He didn't stop there. He pointed out the double standard that often plagues female politicians. He wondered aloud if the media would be so obsessed with a male candidate's dating history from two decades prior.
He had a point.
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You don't see people digging up old photos of every woman a male senator took to a gala in the early 2000s. The fixation on the relationship between Kamala Harris and Montel Williams often feels like a relic of a different era—one where a woman's past associations were used to define her present value.
Beyond the Red Carpet: What They Were Doing in 2001
To understand why they were even in the same room, you have to look at where they were in their respective lives.
- Kamala Harris: She was deeply entrenched in California law. She had recently moved from the Alameda County District Attorney's Office to the San Francisco City Attorney's Office. She was building the reputation for being "tough on crime" (a label that would later become a point of contention in her political career).
- Montel Williams: He had been diagnosed with multiple sclerosis (MS) just two years earlier, in 1999. The gala they attended was specifically for MS research. For Montel, this wasn't just a social outing; it was personal. He was using his massive platform to find a cure for a disease that had upended his life.
They were two high-achievers. One was a prosecutor, the other a media mogul. In the social circles of California in the early 2000s, it's actually more surprising that they didn't cross paths sooner.
The "Third Person" in the Photo
One of the weirdest parts of this internet saga is how Montel’s daughter, Ashley, gets erased from the narrative. In many of the cropped photos shared by trolls, she’s edited out to make it look like a more intimate "date night."
In reality, the presence of his daughter suggests the relationship was more casual or family-oriented than the "secret affair" rumors suggest. It was a public event where a father brought his daughter and the woman he was seeing.
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Moving Past the Memes
It’s easy to get caught up in the "tea" of celebrity dating. But when it comes to Kamala Harris with Montel Williams, the story ends pretty quickly. They dated. They went to a charity event. They broke up.
Harris went on to marry Doug Emhoff in 2014. Montel has been married to his wife, Tara Fowler, since 2007. They both moved on with their lives long before the rest of the world decided to start talking about them again.
Actionable Insights: How to Spot a "Manufactured" Viral Moment
When you see photos of public figures from decades ago suddenly trending, it’s worth asking a few questions before hitting "share":
- Check the context. Was the photo taken at a public event? In this case, a charity gala is about as public as it gets.
- Look for the uncropped version. Is there someone else in the frame? Often, third parties are removed to change the "vibe" of the image.
- Consider the timing. Is there an election coming up? Is the person in the photo currently in the news for something else?
- Listen to the source. Has the person in the photo addressed it? Montel’s "So what?" is perhaps the most honest answer anyone could give.
The reality of Kamala Harris and Montel Williams isn't a secret history; it's just history. It's a reminder that before they were the figures we see on the news today, they were just people living their lives, attending benefits, and occasionally dating the wrong—or right—person for a few months.
Next time that photo of Kamala and Montel pops up on your feed, you can look at it for what it actually is: a time capsule of 2001 fashion and a brief moment in time that both parties moved past decades ago.