Janet Jackson appeared to question the fact that Vice President and Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris is Black. In an interview with The Guardian, which was published on Saturday, the reporter asked the pop star “where she stands on the forthcoming election,” with America “on the verge of voting in its first female Black president,” the author wrote.
“Well, you know what they supposedly said?” she asked the reporter. “She’s not Black. That’s what I heard. That she’s Indian.” It appeared that she was not aware that Harris is both Black and Indian, which the reporter explained to Jackson.
“Her father’s white. That’s what I was told. I mean, I haven’t watched the news in a few days,” Jackson responded. “I was told that they discovered her father was white.”
That is, of course, false. Harris’ father, Donald J. Harris, was born in Browns Town, Jamaica and grew up in Jamaica. Her mother, Shyamala Gopalan Harris, was born in Chennai, India, and died in 2009. Harris’ parents divorced in 1971. As The Guardian points out, those who question Harris’ heritage “tend to be hardcore QAnon-adjacent, Trump-loving conspiracy theorists,” which the reporter concluded that Jackson was likely neither. And while it’s unclear who the specific “they” is who falsely claimed Harris is not Black and that her father is white according to Jackson, the reporter pondered where Jackson might be gathering this misinformation.
Back in July, GOP presidential nominee Donald Trump claimed he didn’t know Harris is Black. “I’ve known her a long time indirectly,” Trump said during an appearance before the National Association of Black Journalists. “She was always of Indian heritage, and she was only promoting Indian heritage. I didn’t know she was Black until a number of years ago when she happened to turn Black.” He added: “She made a turn, and she became a Black person, and I think somebody should look into that,” appearing to imply she “became a Black person” for political gain.
The Guardian also asked Jackson if she believed America was ready for Harris. “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,” Jackson said.