“She’s not black. That’s what I’ve heard. That she’s Indian,” 58-year-old singer and actress Janet Jackson, sister of the late global star Michael Jackson, recently said about Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris, repeating the false claim that the vice president had misrepresented her race/ethnicity. “Her father is white. That’s what I’ve been told,” Jackson said in an interview with the guardian which was published on Saturday.
“I mean, I haven’t seen the news in a few days,” she added.
Harris has long publicly identified as black and Indian American, and throughout her political career, claims to the contrary have been repeatedly proven false. Her father, Donald Harris, is an economist and Stanford professor from Jamaica, while her mother, Shyamala Gopalan, who died in 2009, was a biomedical scientist from India.
Jackson’s recent comments, however, echo misinformation spread by Harris’ Republican rival, Donald Trump, who told the National Association of Black Journalists in July that Harris “accidentally turned black and now wants to be known as black.” The former president repeated his claim during the recent debate, saying, “I read that she’s black. Then I read that she’s not black.”
The GuardianDonald Trump’s interview with Jackson sparked a storm of outrage online, with social media posts harshly attacking and mocking the singer garnering millions of views.
“This whole Janet Jackson thing just shows how out of touch with reality some celebrities are. I’ve always loved her but she repeats lies!? Shakes my head. If you don’t know anything about a topic, don’t talk about it… especially not on your platform,” said one post on X. Comedian DL Hughley posted that Jackson’s interview “sounded like a #Trump rally,” and a fan account of celebrities, including Jackson, called her comments “just irresponsible.”
Others, meanwhile, have defended Jackson for raising doubts about Harris’ race. “As a child of the ’90s, I will not let you smear Janet Jackson for speaking her mind,” posted Royce White, a former professional basketball player and Republican Senate candidate in Minnesota, adding, “You can take my black card too.”
Then the saga took an even stranger turn.
Mo Elmasri, a person who claimed to be Jackson’s manager and is listed on the IMDB page as a producer of Jackson’s documentary, said in a statement on Sunday cited by several media outlets, including Buzzfeed – which first reported it – that Jackson “acknowledges” that her remarks about Harris’ race “were based on misinformation” and that she “apologizes for any confusion caused.” The statement added: “Janet respects Harris’ dual heritage as Black and Indian and apologizes for any confusion caused. She values the diversity Harris represents and understands the importance of celebrating this in today’s society. Janet remains committed to promoting unity and understanding.”
But later on Sunday, representatives of the singer refuted Elmasri’s statement, saying he was not authorized to speak on her behalf.
Elmasri said diversity in a separate statement that he was “fired by Janet and Randy (Jackson) after they attempted to improve their image with the public and their fans,” adding that this was “something I don’t deserve.” diversity reported, citing sources close to Jackson, that Elmasri is probably not directly connected to the singer. (USA Today reported that Elmasri never worked on Jackson’s team.) Jackson has been managed by her brother Randy for years, and the siblings, according to diversitycould not be reached for comment as they mourn the recent death of their brother Tito.
Throughout her decades-long career in entertainment, Jackson has been a vocal advocate for social justice, using her public platform and music to advocate for LGBTQ rights, women’s rights and the Black Lives Matter movement.
When the guardian When a reporter dismissed Jackson’s claim that Harris is not black and asked her if she thought the U.S. was ready for Harris, a woman of color, as president, Jackson reportedly replied, “Honestly, I don’t want to answer that because I really don’t know. I think it’s going to be a mess either way.”
