Vice President Kamala Harris attended a Clinton Foundation event with Bill Clinton to discuss female empowerment amid Covid-19, but the scheduled talk sparked backlash given the former president's past accusations of sexual abuse.

The Clinton Global Initiative event took place on Friday and was hosted by Howard University, of which Ms Harris was an alumni.

Prior to the talk, it was shared widely as a "one-on-one conversation" between the vice president and Mr Clinton to discuss "the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on women, and empowering women and girls in the US and around the world."

Social media was flooded with criticism of the purpose of the event on Tuesday following its announcement, with people accusing it of being tone-deaf given Mr Clinton has faced several sexual harassment accusations.

Mr Clinton was accused of sexual assault by Paula Jones in 1991 and of rape by Juanita Broaddrick in 1978. He has denied both claims but both women have stood by their stories.

Several other women have also accused the former president of sexual harassment, claims which Mr Clinton has denied.

Despite the backlash, the virtual event was positive between Ms Harris and the former president, and it gave the vice president a chance to discuss some of the ways the passage of the American Rescue Plan would have on working families, single mothers, and people of colour.

This included the child tax credit, which the Biden administration believed would help lift 50 per cent of children currently living in poverty out of poverty. Also, Ms Harris spoke about how the American Rescue Plan prioritised initiatives like paid sick leave and paid family leave, which working class Americans don’t always receive at their jobs.

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