Pop star Janet Jackson was blasted by left-wing critics last week for saying that Kamala Harris isn’t black. Then it was reported that she apologized saying she was “misinformed.” Now, Jackson is saying that apology was issued without authorization.
Last week, The Guardian reported that Jackson dismissed claims that Vice President Harris is black because Harris was born to an Indian woman.
“Well, you know what they supposedly said? She’s not Black. That’s what I heard. That she’s Indian,” the Rythm Nation singer said, according to the paper.
The paper’s reporter corrected the singer by noting that Harris is both black and Indian, but Jackson pushed back against that, too, by saying the vice president’s father was white.
“Her father’s white. That’s what I was told. I mean, I haven’t watched the news in a few days,” she said. “I was told that they discovered her father was white.”
Kamala Harris was born in Oakland, California, to mother Shyamala Gopalan, who was a cancer researcher from India. Her father, Donald Harris, is native of Jamaica and was an economist who immigrated to the U.S. to earn a doctorate degree at the University of California, Berkeley, where he met Kamala’s mother.
Once Jackson’s words got into print, though, Mo Elmasri apologized for her comments in a statement on Sunday in a report at Buzzfeed. Elmasri told Buzzfeed he was Jackson’s manager.
“Janet apologizes for any confusion caused and acknowledges the importance of accurate representation in public discourse” Elmasri said. “We appreciate the opportunity to address this and will remain committed to promoting unity … She deeply respects Vice President Kamala Harris and her accomplishments as a Black and Indian woman.”
But now Jackson’s team is disavowing Mo Elmasri’s statement.
Indeed, there seems to be confusion over Elmasri’s actual role with Jackson. According to sources, her brother, Randy Jackson, is actually Janet’s manager. And now the Jackson team is insisting that Elmasri had no right or authorization to issue any apologies, according to USA Today.
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