As Janet Jackson continues to face criticism for repeating false claims about Vice President Kamala Harris’s race — and more criticism for whether or not she actually apologized — Whoopi Goldberg is encouraging fans to show the singer some grace.
To kick off Monday morning’s episode of “The View,” the women offered their takes after Jackson said in an interview with The Guardian published Friday that Harris’ “father’s white. That’s what I was told.”
“Look, I think Janet Jackson — like every other American, whether you’re a celebrity or not — has a right to endorse, support or not support whomever they want. She’s got every right to not like Kamala Harris if she wants to,” Ana Navarro said.
“What she did was spread misinformation. And I think it’s very irresponsible, when you have a platform the way Janet Jackson does, to use that platform carelessly, to spread misinformation based on a racist allegation by Donald Trump,” she continued.
Host Alyssa Farah Griffin was more lenient, noting that “information silos” are more prevalent now thanks to social media algorithms. She argued that it’s possible that Jackson was just fed the wrong information (the presidential hopeful’s father is in fact Jamaican, and her mother is South Asian).
Meanwhile, host Sunny Hostin — who reminded her cohosts and viewers that she’s biracial herself — argued that Harris is handling the situation properly by not paying it any attention.
“I don’t know if it comes from misinformation, I don’t know if it comes from a lack of information, but all I know is that I don’t want to give it this much air,” Hostin said.
But as the conversation started to wind down, Whoopi Goldberg was adamant that Jackson deserves some room for error.
“Janet Jackson is not a political animal,” Whoopi said. “She’s a musician, her life is doing this, and she’s mourning her brother.”
The host noted that she herself has repeated incorrect information in the past, and admitted that it’s a “pain in the butt” being expected to speak on things immediately and cogently.
“Sometimes people get it wrong and they’re wrong! They made a mistake, they were wrong. It happens,” Whoopi said. “Anybody who says it doesn’t happen to every one of us, multiracial or not, we all do it. So OK, a little grace for the girl. A little grace for the girl.”
“The View” airs weekdays at 11 a.m. ET on ABC. You can watch full episodes later that afternoon on YouTube.
