When President Joe Biden dropped out of the 2024 race on Sunday and endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris to replace him as the presumptive Democratic nominee, dozens of Hollywood celebrities almost immediately followed suit with their own endorsements and support of Harris.

There was one notable, albeit only temporary, exception to the flood of support for VP Harris, however -- TV host Montel Williams, who briefly dated Harris more than 20 years ago and initially expressed his support for a different replacement for Biden, according to the New York Post.

Williams first declared his support for Democratic Maryland Gov. Wes Moore to replace Biden but later joined the crowd backing Harris after the governor announced his endorsement of the VP to be the party's nominee against former President Donald Trump.

Williams initially backed Moore over Harris

In an early morning X post on Monday, Montel Williams approvingly shared Gov. Moore's statement from a day earlier about President Biden withdrawing from the 2024 presidential race.

"I’d love to see @iamwesmoore leading the ticket or otherwise on my ballot and I’m ready to campaign," Williams wrote. "I’ve watched @GovWesMoore lead my home state of Maryland, and I know leadership when I see it."

The TV star was quickly criticized in the comments for appearing to not support VP Harris but made his stance clear when he wrote in reply to one critical commenter, "I will vote for whomever is on my ballot not named Trump. I have said this over, and over, and over again. Nothing has changed."

Williams shared Moore's endorsement of Harris

Less than two hours after his first post, most likely in response to the criticism he'd received, Williams pointed out how he'd reposted Gov. Moore's formal statement of endorsement for VP Harris to replace President Biden as the Democratic Party's presumptive nominee.

Yet, he continued to face critical comments from both sides of the issue, with some questioning how he could support Harris and others wondering why he'd initially backed Moore.

Williams' support for Moore shouldn't come as a surprise, however, according to the Post, as it had been previously expressed and the two men have a particular connection in common as both are U.S. Naval Academy graduates and military veterans.

On July 6, amid the then-ongoing debate among Democrats over whether Biden should step aside following his disastrous debate performance, Williams posted, "If @TheDemocrats were to put up @iamwesmoore, I would back him enthusiastically… …It goes without saying I will vote for @JoeBiden, or anyone else the Democrats put up. To do otherwise would be irresponsible."

More recently on Monday, after his initial posts went viral, Williams wrote in an apparent reference to Moore, "Is anyone surprised I am interested in a politician who also went to the Naval Academy and whose leadership has impressed me?"

The brief relationship between Williams and Harris

The New York Post reported that Williams and Harris dated briefly in 2001 while Williams was at the height of his stardom as a daytime TV talk show host and Harris was an unknown Bay Area prosecuting attorney.

Though their relationship didn't last long and little is known about it, they did appear publicly together on a few occasions, most notably on the red carpet at a benefit gala for multiple sclerosis, which Williams had been diagnosed with a few years earlier.

Following their momentary courtship, according to one report, Williams, who was twice married and divorced before, ended up tying the knot a third time in 2007 with his current wife, flight attendant Tara Fowler, while Harris went on to marry in 2014 her current husband, attorney and second gentleman Doug Emhoff.