Ella Emhoff, the stepdaughter of former Vice President Kamala Harris, has drawn criticism on social media for expressing climate anxiety while being photographed with plastic bags in her posts. The 26-year-old model and designer shared a six-minute TikTok video Friday lamenting the ‘weight’ of environmental concerns, yet her Instagram posts the day prior featured a plastic bag on her bed and outside a Pasadena thrift store. This juxtaposition sparked online accusations of hypocrisy, particularly given Harris’s own advocacy for banning single-use plastics.
Emhoff’s video highlighted her struggle with climate anxiety, stating, ‘Everything with the environment is really f—ing getting to me, and it is — I experience a lot of climate anxiety, like all of us do.’ Despite her efforts to combat environmental issues, she admitted the ‘weight’ of these concerns makes it hard to stay motivated.
Her Instagram posts showed her at a thrift store, holding a plastic bag and looking through items in plastic containers, prompting a follower to comment on the excessive use of plastic in the store. Critics argued that supporting such stores undermines environmental efforts, adding to the controversy.
The situation isn’t new for the Emhoffs. In 2019, Harris advocated for banning plastic straws, but by 2024, her campaign shifted its stance. Additionally, Harris and her husband, Doug Emhoff, were photographed in 2024 leaving a store with groceries in a plastic bag, further fueling the discussion.
Emhoff’s political activism has also attracted attention, including her complaints about ‘trauma’ from returning to the New York City polling station where she voted for Harris, who lost the Democratic mayoral primary. The incident raises questions about the intersection of personal action and public advocacy in environmental and political spheres.