Kamala Harris has been branded a 'brat' by Gen Z popstar Charli XCX. Photo / Twitter
Celebrities are showing their support for the Democratic Party frontrunner Kamala Harris; why has she been branded a ‘brat’ by Gen Z pop sensation Charli XCX and what does it mean? The Herald’s Lillie Rohan explains.
On Monday, President Joe Biden revealed he will no longer be seeking re-election in the 2024 Presidential race. This news elicited a flurry of reactions from the world, including celebrities, but now attention has turned to his Vice-President, Kamala Harris.
Biden has endorsed the 59-year-old as the new front-runner for the Democratic Party. “Today, I want to offer my full support and endorsement for Kamala to be the nominee of our party this year. Democrats – it’s time to come together and beat Trump. Let’s do this,” he said in a social media post.
And he isn’t the only one supporting her, the internet is as well. In the past 24 hours, the politician has become a viral sensation, with one Gen Z popstar declaring Harris is a “brat”, and perhaps surprisingly, she means that as a compliment.
British singer Charli XCX released her latest album brat on June 7 - she recently collaborated with Kiwi musician Lorde on a remix of Girl, So Confusing from the album - and took to X after hearing news of Biden’s endorsement, writing: “Kamala IS brat.”
Despite the word traditionally refering to someone who has been misbehaved, like many words nowadays it has had a Gen Z makeover.
It’s the name of Charli XCX’s new album, and the singer (born Charlotte Emma Aitchison) recently declared the word “brat” has a new meaning.
Taking to TikTok, the star said brat is “that girl who is a little messy and likes to party and like maybe says some like dumb things sometimes, who like feels herself but then also like maybe has a breakdown ... It’s brat, you’re brat, that’s brat.”
It sparked an online trend dubbed “brat girl summer”, and Harris appears to fully support it.
The Biden campaign’s official account, Biden-Harris HQ, has officially rebranded to Kamala HQ with a ‘brat’ theme. pic.twitter.com/xy4FhdE5h7
— Pop Base (@PopBase) July 22, 2024
Upon seeing the singer’s tweet, the presidential candidate’s team changed the photo of the official Kamala HQ X account to a green background with ‘Kamala hq’ written in black. A reference to the cover art of Charli XCX’s album.
The move quickly won the hearts of social media users, who took to X and TikTok to share their support for Harris. One person wrote: “Gen Z wants a brat presidency,” while another added: “Kamala Harris 2024 is on the brat summer schedule.”
Another person wrote: “Kamala Harris running for president in 2024 is so brat girl summer, and you can’t tell me otherwise.”
On this day one year ago, Vice President Kamala Harris said, “you think you just fell out of a coconut tree?” pic.twitter.com/Vh5OTv3XlF
— Know Your Meme (@knowyourmeme) May 10, 2024
Along with her association with brat girl summer, you may notice social media support of Harris, the highly memeable politican, also includes a lot of coconuts, that’s because it’s not the first time Harris has gone viral on social media.
The coconut is a reference to a speech the vice president gave in May 2023 where she spoke about advancing opportunities for Hispanic Americans.
During the speech, Harris declared the initiative should be focused on young people but also their families and extended communities, “because none of us just live in a silo”.
Admitting everything is “in context”, she added, “My mother ... 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?’”
It took a while for the speech to reach the social media sphere, but when it did in February this year, it was an immediate hit and quickly went viral on X and TikTok, with many creating memes out of it.
One person wrote on X: “This video is literally like medicine to me. I watch it once every week or two and every time I do I get an enduring hit of light euphoria for the next 45 minutes.”
Another said: “You know sometimes I feel I’ve seen enough dumb videos online and then I come across this.”
Others are merging the coconut trend with brat.
“Why did I stay up till 3am making a von dutch brat coconut tree edit featuring kamala harris and why can’t I stop watching it on repeat,” someone posted along with a video of Harris highlights backed with Charli XCX’s song Von Dutch.
why did I stay up till 3am making a von dutch brat coconut tree edit featuring kamala harris and why can’t I stop watching it on repeat pic.twitter.com/hqcmerD1Pb
— ryan (@ryanlong03) July 3, 2024
The coconut tree is just one of Harris’ public moments going viral online, and while some would cringe at the thought of it happening to them, the politician’s popularity may actually help her in the presidential race.
By taking some of her most awkward and odd public moments, Gen Z are giving Harris a relatable image that may resonate the younger demographic of voters.
Speaking to the Washington Post, Bailey Stoltzfus, a law student in Arizona, said: “Everyone who doesn’t want Trump in office was like, okay, who do we turn to? And she just has these funny relatable moments online.” She added: “She’s goofy; people characterise her as a wine aunt.”
Diana Claire, a TikTok content creator and Instagram meme account administrator, told the news outlet: “For so long, it was the good old boys, Biden and Trump, talking about golf.” She added: “Kamala is a West Coast fun mom. She looks like a bureaucrat that would still have fun after work and go to karaoke.”
Others have taken to X with their thoughts.
One wrote: “I’m all in on President Kamala. We need a Gemini Rising woman President from California who is on pills+wine, is campy, and didn’t get married until she was middle aged because she was too busy being a 365 party girlboss. Who cares if she’s weird? At least she’s not a felon or 80.″
I’m all in on President Kamala. We need a Gemini Rising woman President from California who is on pills+wine, is campy, and didn’t get married until she was middle aged because she was too busy being a 365 party girlboss. Who cares if she’s weird? At least she’s not a felon or 80
— superfun site (@chickenstrip007) July 2, 2024
Another added: “I will enlist in the coconut army. I will serve for madame president. I will fight to Kamala Harris.”
Hariss officially launched her presidential campaign yesterday after being endorsed by Biden.
Appearing at an event in the White House, she made her first appearance since the news broke, declaring: “Joe Biden’s legacy over the last three years is unmatched in modern history.
“Every day, our President, Joe Biden, fights for the American people and we are deeply, deeply grateful for his service to our nation.”
Biden is the oldest person to ever occupy the Oval Office, at 81 years old. In his public letter deciding not to seek re-election, he said he would remain president until his term ends on January 20, 2025.
His decision came after former president and leader of the Republican Party, Donald Trump, survived an assassination attempt earlier this month.
Since announcing her run for presidency, many celebrities have started endorsing Harris, including Academy Award-winner Jamie Lee Curtis and popstars Cardi B and Katy Perry.
“I support wholeheartedly @joebiden and his decision to step down and to endorse unreservedly @kamalaharris,” Curtis wrote on Instagram. “She is trusted and tested and she is a fierce advocate for women’s rights and people of colour and her message is one of hope and unity for America at her time of great national divide.”
Cardi B posted on X: “AHAHAHAHA LETS GOOOOO I TOLD YALLL KAMALA WAS SUPPOSED TO BE THE 2024 candidate.”
Meanwhile, Perry sang: “It’s a woman’s world, and you’re lucky to be living in it,” in an Instagram video.
Ariana Grande also took to the social media app, sharing Biden’s post endorsing Harris on her Instagram story.
Star Trek actor George Takei took to X where he said Biden is “a decent, honourable man, a hugely successful president, and a patriot”. He added, “Now let us unite behind @KamalaHarris and defeat Donald Trump in November!”
American actress Yvette Nicole Brown, who appeared in Community, posted “Let’s go! #TeamHarris!” on X, while Two And A Half Men star Jon Cryer posted: “President Harris. Let’s do this.”
West Wing and The Newsroom creator Aaron Sorkin said “Harris for America!” while Spike Lee took to Instagram to declare “ONCE AGAIN A SISTA COMES TO DA RESCUE”.
Lillie Rohan is a London-based reporter covering lifestyle and entertainment stories who joined the Herald in 2020. She specialises in all things reality TV, films and music.
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