President Joe Biden offered Kal Penn some matter-of-fact advice on marrying his longtime fiancé: “Do it now. Don’t wait.”
The president was interviewed by Penn, in Indian-American actor best known for starring in the “Harold & Kumar” movies, for an episode of “The Daily Show” that aired Monday. Penn came out in 2021, revealing that he was engaged to his partner of 11 years, Josh, who he said he fell in love with while working in the Barack Obama administration.
In December, Biden codified same-sex and interracial marriage into law by signing the Respect for Marriage Act. Penn asked the president how he came to support marriage equality.
Biden recalled having an “epiphany” one day while he was a senior in high school, when he saw two men kissing on their way to work.
“And I’ll never forget, I turned and looked to my Dad. He said, ‘Joey, it’s simple. They love each other,’” Biden said. “It’s just that simple.”
“It doesn’t matter whether its same-sex or a heterosexual couple, they should be able to be married,” he later added. “What is the problem? So listen to your auntie and your uncle and get married. Do it now. Don’t wait.”
Penn and Josh have been engaged for five years, and not much has been revealed publicly about Josh, including his last name.
Penn joked during the interview that “every auntie and uncle that I have is beyond disappointed that there hasn’t been a wedding yet.”
In 2021, he said he’s pushing for a “big ass Indian wedding.”
“Obviously I am engaged to a man and our families will be there for the wedding,” he said at the time. “The big disagreement now is whether it’s a huge wedding or a tiny wedding.”
Watch the full interview below.
