Janet Jackson’s Apology For Kamala Harris Comments Was Not Approved By Artist

Glenn Garner and Dominic Patten
·2-min read

UPDATE 2:32pm: Turns out Janet Jackson‘s bizarre questioning of Kamala Harris‘ heritage has gotten even weirder.

Despite reports today about the 5x Grammy winner walking back her statements that Harris is “not Black,” Jackson’s team has told TMZ that the apology issued earlier by Mo Elmasri, who claimed to be her manager, was not approved by Jackson.

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According to Janet’s IMDb, Elmasri is listed as her manager, but it is widely known that her brother Randy Jackson is her longtime manager.

The saga continues…

PREVIOUSLY 9:18am: Following swift backlash for recent comments about Vice President Kamala Harris, Janet Jackson appears to have issued an apology.

Claiming to be the Unbreakable artist’s manager, Mo Elmasri said Jackson previously spoke “based on misinformation” about the Democratic presidential nominee’s family and ethnicity during a recent interview with The Guardian.

“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,” Elmasri told Buzzfeed in a statement. “We appreciate the opportunity to address this and will remain committed to promoting unity.”

Jackson previously postulated about Harris’ family background while seemingly admitting that she did not know what she was talking about.

“Well, you know what they supposedly said? She’s not Black. That’s what I heard. That she’s Indian,” she told The Guardian. When the reporter clarified that Harris is of both Black and South Asian heritage, Jackson responded, “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.”

Jackson appeared to be parroting a right-wing conspiracy theory perpetuated by Harris’ presidential opponent Donald Trump. While appearing before the National Association of Black Journalists in July, Trump said, “She was always of Indian heritage and she was promoting Indian heritage. I didn’t know she was Black until a number of years ago when she happened to turn Black, and now she wants to be known as Black. So I don’t know, is she Indian, or is she Black?”

It is well documented that the VP’s father Donald is a Jamaican-American professor of economics at Stanford University, while her late mother Shyamala Gopalan was a renowned breast cancer researcher and scientist who hailed from southern India. Both of Kamala’s parents immigrated to the United States, meeting as graduate students at the University of California, Berkeley.

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