Former Vice President Kamala Harris left attendees puzzled on Sunday at the Australian Real Estate Conference during a Q&A session, as she tried to relate a ‘humorous’ anecdote about her mother.
Harris spent over an hour speaking with real estate expert John McGrath, reminiscing about how her mother was deeply concerned with women’s reproductive health, often discussing topics like ‘fibroids’ and ‘hormones.’
‘My mother was quite amusing because she would say, ‘When you see the cover of Playboy magazine, remember, the reason people are drawn to these images is to understand how they relate to the continuation of the human race,’ Harris recalled with a laugh. ‘She had a very straightforward approach.’
‘A great lady,’ McGrath replied shortly before shifting immediately to another question.
Video of the exchange in Australia emerged on social media as an attendee at the conference recorded and shared it.
Harris was spotted at the ritzy Mosman’s Bather’s Pavilion restaurant in Sydney, over the weekend and spoke at the conference which cost between $995 and $1695 for a two-day pass to the event.
Harris also spoke at length about issues important to her but struggled with the concept of humility, circling the idea in a way that suggested she was unclear about what it was.
‘I don’t aspire to be humble. And I don’t recommend it, I think that one must be humble. But to aspire to be humble would be quite inauthentic,’ she said.
‘If one understands that, just, I mean, there’s so much that is magnificent and awe-inspiring about this world and its people.
Former US vice president Kamala Harris is pictured dining alongside her husband Doug Emhoff at Bather’s Pavillion in Sydney on Friday night
Kamala Harris arrives in Australia for a speaking event
Kamala Harris, right, with her mother Shyamala Gopalan at a Chinese New Year parade in San Francisco in 2007. Harris shared a story about her mother during her speech.
‘And when you take the moment to just listen to an individual’s story, whether it’s someone you’re sitting next to on the plane or standing in line with at the grocery store, there is so much about this world that we know and we don’t know.
‘And that is very humbling to realize the dreams that people have, the struggles that they’ve overcome and the magnificence of that. To realize the beauty of the human spirit, that we are by nature, I think, as a species, we don’t give up.’
But Harris wasn’t finished, emphasizing the importance of ambition outside of humility.
‘Part of the key to our survival is that we are adaptable but we are also ambitious. I applaud ambition. I applaud ambition. I think it is a good thing, to reach, but not without also understanding that in so doing, one must do the hard work. One must understand the context in which they exist. One must be respectful,’ she said.
An attendee makes the sign of a heart with their hands as former US Vice President Kamala Harris takes the stage
Kamala Harris speaks onstage during the HumanX AI Conference 2025
Harris also included throwbacks to famous word-salads of her political career including a mention of being ‘unburdened by what has been,’ the importance of ‘speaking truth’ and being aware of the significance of the ‘passage of time.’
‘I think it’s very important to understand that people who fight for equality, fight for freedom, they see what can be and are unburdened by what has been they believe in what is possible. So even though it may be characterized as a fight, it really is it should I think be thought of in the context of a fight for something as opposed to against something,’ she said.
At one point the moderator said he believed her ‘best work is ahead of you, for sure, 100 percent.’
‘I am unemployed right now,’ she said with a smile. ‘Go on, let’s speak truth.’
When she was asked to give advice to young women in the real estate industry, she repeated her motto about not listening to people who tell them to wait their turn.
‘I don’t hear no. I eat no for breakfast,’ she said.
