CNN anchor Chris Cuomo apologized after facing a backlash over an exchange he had about gender pronouns with Sen. Kamala Harris, D-Calif., during the CNN Equality Town Hall on Thursday.

As Harris walked on stage for the discussion about LGBTQ rights and equality, she greeted Cuomo and thanked the audience.

She then immediately presented her preferred gender pronouns, or the set of pronouns an individual uses to describe themselves.

"Thank you, guys. And my pronouns are she, her, and hers," Harris said to the audience.

"She, her, and hers?" Cuomo asked. "Mine too."

"Alright," Harris flatly responded.

Cuomo's comments were met with backlash. LGBTQ advocacy organization GLAAD called it "so disappointing" for Cuomo to "mock" Harris.

Equality Town Hall:Protesters draw attention to violence against transgender women of color at CNN LGBTQ town hall

The response led to Cuomo's apology.

"When Sen. Harris said her pronouns were she her and her's, I said mine too. I should not have. I apologize. I am an ally of the LGBTQ community, and I am sorry because I am committed to helping us achieve equality," Cuomo wrote on Twitter. "Thank you for watching our townhall."

Traditional pronoun usage can often present issues for transgender or gender nonconforming people, who might prefer a different pronoun than the one others initially use to describe them. Harris is one of several Democratic presidential candidates who include their preferred pronouns in their Twitter account biographies.

LGBTQ issues:'Trump is a reaction to our great progress': LGBTQ voters looking for change in 2020

Zach Ford of the Alliance for Justice said Cuomo "[ruined] this important moment."

The National Center for Lesbian Rights tweeted at Cuomo to say "people's pronouns are not a punchline."