Social media star and the United States Vice President Kamala Harris' niece Meena Harris has been in the eye of a storm recently after the White House asked her to not invoke her sister's name while promoting her brand.
Harris was recently warned by the White House not to 'build her brand' while using the name of her sister Kamala Harris.
Who is Meena Harris?
Meena Harris is the nephew of Kamala Harris and a Harvard graduated lawyer and social media star. She is also an entrepreneur who worked in Uber previously along with her stepfather Tony West. Four years ago, she started a company called 'Phenomenal' that sells t-shirts with socially relevant messages. Many of these are often posted on her social media platforms including her Instagram profile along with other photos where she is posing with Kamala.
What is the Meena Harris controversy?
Many in the Biden administration have recently been of the opinion that Meena might be ending up leveraging her aunt Kamala's name for promoting her personal brand. Biden's transition team’s ethics lawyers at the White House recently told Meena that she would be unable to use her sister or the Bidens' name to promote her own books, t-shirt, or other content.
Concerns after Trump
A business-led by Donald Trump's sons Eric and Donald Jr. and owned by him was seen to directly be profiting from allied political groups while Trump was President. Ivanka Trump and her husband Jared Kushner owned major interests in a family-owned real estate business as well as in a lifestyle brand. Many had at the time raised questions about Trump's family invoking his name for promoting their own interests.
Meena's Indian connect
Meena Harris became viral in India not just as the niece of Kamala Harris but also as a critic of the Indian government. She recently tweeted about the ongoing farmer protests in India and also made statements like the "most populous democracy is under assault". Harris was slammed by many in India for making comments about Indian politics.