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Quick Take
Vice President Kamala Harris had a romantic relationship with powerful California politician Willie Brown in the 1990s. But claims on social media that she broke up his marriage misrepresent the facts. Brown had separated from his wife years before he and Harris had dated.
Full Story
False and misleading claims targeting Vice President Kamala Harris intensified as she drew closer to formally becoming the Democratic nominee for president on Aug. 5.
We’ve written about the false narrative that Harris only recently began identifying as Black.
Another viral claim circulating on social media rehashes old rumors about Harris’ relationship with the influential California Democrat Willie Brown in the 1990s while Harris was working as an assistant district attorney. These posts misleadingly claimed that Harris “started her career” by sleeping with a married man or that she “stole a black womans husband.”
Here is what we know about Harris’ relationship with Brown.
Harris was 29 in March 1994 when a San Francisco Chronicle columnist described her as Brown’s “new steady,” going on to say that she was “something new in Willie’s love life. She’s a woman, not a girl.” At the time, Brown, who was then 60 years old and speaker of the California State Assembly, had been estranged from his wife for more than a decade.
As speaker, Brown appointed Harris to the California Medical Assistance Commission later that year, which provides the basis for claims that Brown helped Harris’ career that sometimes accompany the claims suggesting that she broke up his marriage. (Brown left the Assembly in 1995, and became mayor of San Francisco until 2004.)
Brown had married Blanche Vitero in 1957 and the couple had three children. But by the early 1970s, Brown was frequently seen around town with young women and his marriage collapsed, according to a 1996 biography written by James Richardson, a senior writer at the Sacramento Bee. It was at this time that Brown got the first of a “series of apartments” of his own, while his “relationship with his wife settled into a mutually beneficial friendship,” Richardson wrote.
A 1984 profile published in the New York Times described Brown as an “escort for attractive women” and “good friend of his former wife,” from whom it says he “separated amicably” two years earlier.
“I don’t know whether the marriage failed and the relationship survived or vice versa, but something very valuable lasted,” Brown wrote in his own 2008 autobiography, explaining that he and his wife had celebrated their 50th anniversary in 2007, although they hadn’t lived together in 25 years.
“Although Blanche and I led very different lives, there was never a breakup,” he wrote. “The two of us kept the family circle going. We’ve always been in each other’s lives. We’re friends.”
Indeed, as we said, Brown had developed a reputation for dating around and, in 2001, he welcomed a fourth child, a daughter, with his then-girlfriend Carolyn Carpeneti.
Harris and Brown reportedly ended their relationship by the end of 1995 or the beginning of 1996. But it has come up repeatedly since Harris first sought public office as San Francisco district attorney, which she won in 2003. During that campaign, Harris was trying to distance herself from Brown, telling SF Weekly, “His career is over; I will be alive and kicking for the next 40 years. I do not owe him a thing.” She called him an “albatross hanging around my neck.”
But, 20 years later, claims about that relationship continue to shadow Harris as she seeks higher office.
Clarification, Aug. 8: We updated this story to better reflect the time frame for when Harris and Brown reportedly ended their relationship.
Editor’s note: FactCheck.org is one of several organizations working with Meta to debunk misinformation shared on social media. Our previous stories can be found here. Meta has no control over our editorial content.
Sources
Kim, Seung Min. “Kamala Harris is now Democratic presidential nominee, will face off against Donald Trump this fall.” Associated Press. 6 Aug 2014.
Britannica.com. Willie Brown — American politician. Updated 5 Aug 2024.
State of California Department of Justice. Kamala D. Harris, 32nd Attorney General. Accessed 6 Aug 2024.
Farley, Robert. “Harris Has Always Identified as Indian American and Black.” FactCheck.org. 1 Aug 2024.
Christopher, Ben. “The real Kamala Harris: What her California years reveal.” CalMatters. 16 Jul 2024.
Morain, Dan. “2 More Brown Associates Get Well-Paid Posts : Government: The Speaker appoints his frequent companion and a longtime friend to state boards as his hold on his own powerful position wanes.” Los Angeles Times. 29 Nov 1994.
Brown, Willie L. “Basic Brown: My Life and Our Times.” Simon & Schuster. 2008.
Richardson, James. “Willie Brown, A Biography.” University of California Press. 1996.
Turner, Wallace. “For A Politician, Power and Riches Go Together.” New York Times. 16 Jun 1984.
Epstein, Edward. “Glad Dad Brown Makes Up With Daly / Newborn has mayor in conciliatory mood.” San Francisco Chronicle. 10 Apr 2001.
Caen, Herb. “‘Twas the Day After.” San Francisco Chronicle. 26 Dec 1995.
Byrne, Peter. “Kamala’s Karma.” SF Weekly. 24 Sep 2003.