If you figured out “Emily Ratajkowski†and muddled through “Timothée Chalamet,†but still find “Kamala Harris†inscrutable, then Amber Ruffin has some news for you. “I am sick of white people acting like Kamala is just a name you can’t say,†the late-night host said on Friday’s episode of The Amber Ruffin Show. “Guess what? If you refuse to learn someone’s name because it belongs to a person of color, you are a racist.â€
Ruffin’s rant is specifically a reaction to Georgia senator David Perdue referring to the Democratic vice-presidential hopeful as “Kamala-mala-mala, I don’t know, whatever†at a recent Trump rally, but it goes for anyone out there who knows Sinéad contains a silent h but can’t be bothered when it comes to a person of color’s name. Says Ruffin, “Kamala is barely any different than Pamela, and there’s not a white person alive who doesn’t know a Pamela! This name plays to your skill set!â€
She ends the segment by shouting out her writers, Shantira Jackson, Dewayne Perkins, and Oluwademilade Adejuyigbe, the full name of comedian Demi Adejuyigbe. He tweeted about the clip, “Cannot believe how emotional it makes me to hear amber properly and easily say my full-ass Nigerian name on television.â€