Janet Jackson Goes On Bizarre Kamala Harris Tangent Over VP’s Family And Heritage
UPDATED with statement from Janet Jackson’s rep: Janet Jackson knows a lot about the Rhythm Nation, but she clearly doesn’t know anything about Vice President Kamala Harris’ heritage.
In a sprawling and at times confusing interview with The Guardian, Jackson postulated about Kamala Harris’ family background while seemingly admitting that she did not know what she was talking about.
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“Well, you know what they supposedly said? She’s not Black. That’s what I heard. That she’s Indian,” she told the reporter. When the profile writer clarified that she is of both Black and South Asian heritage, Jackson answered, “Her father’s white. That’s what I was told. I mean, I haven’t watched the news in a few days. I was told they discovered her father was white.”
Following the backlash around her interview, Jackson released a statement through her manager Mo Elmasri, who told Buzzfeed the comments were “based on misinformation.”
“She deeply respects Vice President Kamala Harris and her accomplishments as a Black and Indian woman. Janet apologizes for any confusion caused and acknowledges the importance of accurate representation in public discourse,” added Elmasri. “We appreciate the opportunity to address this and will remain committed to promoting unity.”
In making her comments, Jackson was parroting conspiracy theory right-wing talking points perpetuated by GOP presidential candidate Donald Trump. At the presidential debate held earlier this month, he said, “I don’t know. I mean all I can say is I read where she was not Black. And then I read that she was Black and that’s OK. Either one was OK with me. That’s up to her.” (In an interview with NPR, one scholar called it birtherism 2.0, referencing the conspiracy first posited by fringe theorists, who wanted to call into question former president Barack Obama’s legitimacy as a candidate by weaponizing his African father’s immigrant status.)
It is well documented that Harris’ father, Donald, is a Jamaican American professor of economics at Stanford University, while her late mother, Shyamala Gopalan, a renowned breast cancer researcher and scientist, hailed from southern India. Both her parents immigrated to the United States, meeting as graduate students at the University of California, Berkeley.
In Harris’ 2019 memoir, The Truths We Hold, she wrote, “My mother, grandparents, aunts and uncle instilled us with pride in our South Asian roots. Our classical Indian names harked back to our heritage, and we were raised with a strong awareness of and appreciation for Indian culture.”
She added, however, “My mother understood very well that she was raising two Black daughters. She knew that her adopted homeland would see Maya [her sister] and me as Black girls, and she was determined to make sure we would grow into confident, proud Black women.”
Elsewhere in the interview, Jackson went on a tangent about “all this child trafficking crap that’s going on,” a strange out-of-the-blue comment considering the plethora of child sexual abuse allegations levied against her late brother. She also said she believes the U.S. will descend into “mayhem” regardless of the election results this November.
Jackson, a multiplatinum artist who has influenced everyone from Britney Spears to Kendrick Lamar, has been cited as a source of inspiration by the biggest R&B and pop musicians today. The five-time Grammy-winning artist has also graced television and film screens in credits like Will & Grace (where she played herself), Fame, Good Times, Nutty Professor II: The Klumps and Poetic Justice, for which she got an Oscar nom for Best Original Song.
The legendary performer is currently on the second leg of her Together Again tour. Her older brother, Tito, the founding guitarist of The Jackson 5, died less than a week ago.
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