Sen. Kamala Harris, by accounts from analysts and voters on both sides of the political aisle, knocked it out of the proverbial park with her Thursday night debate performance in Miami.

Her intense showdown with Democratic front-runner Joe Biden over his comments about working with segregationist Democratic senators in the 1970s all but caused Biden to exit the stage with his tail between his legs. It was really quite something.

And while Harris will undoubtedly ride high over the next days and weeks, an unwelcome benefit of boosting one’s name recognition is the addition of a larger target on her back for her critics.

One fresh example of that is the confusing and likely unintentional message she’s sending to her base of female supporters.

Cooper Hefner, 27, Hugh Hefner’s youngest son and an heir to the Playboy empire since his father’s 2017 death, recently announced a fundraiser to be held for Harris. According to The Hollywood Reporter, the fundraiser is scheduled for July 21 and will be attended by a list of high-profile Hollywood folks.

TRENDING: Tim Tebow Teams with Trump Administration To Fight Human Trafficking

The young Hefner, who has recently become more active in politics, has already donated the federally allowed maximum of $5,600 to Harris’ campaign, according to The Washington Free Beacon.

Not only that, but he’s also attended events with the California senator according to Instagram posts from his account.

So, what’s the problem? Well, it’s really quite obvious. Harris dedicates an entire page on her campaign’s official website to “gender equality” and she’s definitely not shy about promoting the issue on the campaign trail, as it’s naturally a smart move for female candidates to make a play for female supporters.

But in the very first paragraph of the gender equality page, it disparages President Donald Trump, claiming he has “denigrated and demeaned women.”

Do you think Sen. Harris is a hypocrite for taking Playboy money? Yes No Completing this poll entitles you to The Western Journal news updates free of charge. You may opt out at anytime. You also agree to our Privacy Policy and Terms of Use You're logged in to Facebook. Click here to log out. 99% (4827 Votes) 1% (67 Votes)

“The stakes have never been higher for women’s rights,” the second paragraph states, “and Kamala is ready to take the fight to Donald Trump.”

For a female candidate so bent on trashing Trump for “demeaning” women, does the California senator have even the slightest idea of what Playboy is? At its core and since its inception in 1953, Playboy has been synonymous with portraying women as sexual objects.

Literally every person even vaguely aware of American culture knows that.

So, it’s not unreasonable to raise the question of why she thinks it’s acceptable to take thousands of dollars and untold amounts of future cash from a Playboy mogul like Hefner.

And it’s not as if Hefner is planning on exiting the softcore pornography business anytime soon. As a matter of fact, Hefner was responsible for ending the magazine’s year-long flirtation with going nudity-free.

RELATED: Watch: Liberals Show True Colors, Jeer at Trump as He Pays Respects to RBG

As USA Today reported, Playboy published issues without the kind of photos that made it famous from March 2016 to March 2017 — since the internet has basically made pornography universally available at the click of a mouse.

Cooper Hefner announced the end of that experiment in a February 2017 Twitter post.

And Hefner’s professional future after Playboy isn’t exactly going to be choir-boy material.

According to another account in The Hollywood Reporter, Cooper said in April that he planned to leave his executive role at Playboy for a millennial-focused digital property that “features adult content.”

Hefner’s new project, which will reportedly be called “HefPost,” has been described by CNN as “‘Fifty Shades’ meets BuzzFeed.”

Look, he’s an American businessman and has the freedom and right to be in any business he chooses. He’s not the issue here.

But as far as Harris is concerned, she needs to take a serious look at who she’s getting into political bed with and the blatant hypocrisy she’s putting on display, especially if she wants to convince moderate or even right-leaning female voters in 2020 that she’s standing up for them.

I mean, let’s be honest, this would be like Trump campaigning on ending terrorism while happily taking money from Hamas or Hezbollah.

If Harris ever called out or questioned for the donations by women’s rights groups, she’ll undoubtedly find a way to spin the situation, but I have a feeling that the female voters she’ll need to court — should she win the nomination — won’t let her off the hook that easy when it’s crunch time.

We are committed to truth and accuracy in all of our journalism. Read our editorial standards.