Janet Jackson suggested that she believes certain conspiracy theories about Kamala Harris’ racial identity in an interview with The Guardian published Friday, asserting that “her father’s white. That’s what I was told.”
Janet Jackson’s management later walked back her comments in a statement Sunday, apologizing “for any confusion” and noting Jackson’s comments were “based on misinformation.”
Harris’ father is professor Donald J. Harris, is a Black man born in Jamaica who married her Indian mother, Shyamala Gopalan, in 1963 while the two were attending the University of California, Berkley. Harris was born in 1964 and her sister, Maya, was born in 1967. The couple divorced in 1971.
Jackson’s comment came when she was asked for her opinion about the upcoming U.S. presidential election and the possibility that the country will elect its first Black woman to the office.
“Well, you know what they supposedly said? She’s not black. That’s what I heard. That she’s Indian,” Jackson said.
After the interviewer clarified that Harris is biracial, Jackson added, “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 that they discovered her father was white.”
Though Jackson has not previously endorsed a candidate, in 2020 she pushed a campaign for When We All Vote.
Jackson went on to express her concern that no matter who wins the election the result will be “mayhem.” She explained, “Honestly, I don’t want to answer that because I really, truthfully, don’t know. I think either way it goes is going to be mayhem.”
The singer was also asked about change in the United States, particularly in terms of her hit single “Rhythm Nation” which includes the lyrics, “This is the test, no struggle, no progress/Lend a hand to help your brother do his best/Things are getting worse, we have to make them better/It’s time to give a damn, let’s work together.”
When asked if things are getting better, Jackson countered with what was described as “a strange about-turn” in light of recent headlines that pertain to the estate of her late brother, Michael Jackson. She said, “Well, there’s all this child trafficking crap that’s going on and sex trafficking crap, you know what I mean, that wasn’t so prevalent then? At least, we didn’t know about it back then. I don’t think we did, did we? Not really. I think it’s really now out in the open, because it’s like a billion-dollar business and all that crap.”
On Friday Michael Jackson’s estate sued an unnamed former associate who threatened to make new allegations of sexual misconduct against the late singer. The man is part of a group of five people who have alleged Michael Jackson molested them as children. In 2020, the estate quietly paid a $20 million settlement to the group in exchange for the signing of non-disclosure agreements that kept the settlement a secret.
The $20 million was paid out in installments. The man decided he no longer wished to follow the terms of the NDA ahead of the final $500,000 payment and sought a $213 million payment from the estate instead.
False claims about Harris’ racial background have proliferated in MAGA circles since Trump attempted to advance the lie that she only recently identified as Black.
You can read the interview with Janet Jackson at The Guardian.
