Janet Jackson has issued an apology over some recent comments regarding Vice President Kamala Harris from a recent interview.
After being baited by an interviewer for The Guardian on her thoughts of the Presidential hopeful and her race, Janet reportedly said: “She’s not Black. That’s what I heard, that she’s Indian. 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.”
The interview made its way online Saturday, and the backlash ensued from many while Janet also received a lot of support for her comments which may have been misinterpreted.
Harris’ father is Donald Harris, a Jamaican-American economist who was the first Black scholar to receive a tenured position at Stanford’s economics department.
She is also Indian. Her late mother, Shyamala Gopalan, a medical scientist who worked at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, was originally from Chennai.
Following the quote making its rounds, a spokesperson for Jackson told BuzzFeed on Sunday, that her comments were “based on misinformation.”
“She deeply respects Vice President Kamala Harris and her accomplishments as a Black and Indian woman,” the spokesperson added. “Janet apologizes for any confusion caused and acknowledges the importance of accurate representation in public discourse. We appreciate the opportunity to address this and will remain committed to promoting unity.”
While there has been confusion and false information regarding Harris’ race per former president Donald Trump—who has polluted the public conversation about Harris’ race, making false claims that Harris misled voters about her background
Update:
Janet’s reps have released a statement revealing that the released apology from Mo Elmasri was not authorized by her and that she has absolutely no connection to him. Her current manager is her brother, Randy Jackson.
