Janet Jackson seemed to question the fact that Vice President and Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris is black. In an interview with The GuardianIn the article published Saturday, the reporter asked the pop star “where she stands on the upcoming election” as America “is about to elect its first black president,” the author wrote.
“Do you know what they allegedly said?” she asked the reporter. “She’s not black. That’s what I heard. That she’s Indian.” Apparently she was unaware that Harris is both black and Indian, which the reporter explained to Jackson.
“Her father is white. That’s what I was told. I mean, I haven’t seen the news in a few days,” Jackson replied. “I was told they found out her father is white.”
This 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. The Guardian points out that those who question Harris’ parentage are “typically hardcore QAnon-aligned, Trump-loving conspiracy theorists,” and the reporter concluded that Jackson is likely neither. And while it’s unclear who exactly “they” are who have falsely claimed that Harris is not black and that her father is white, according to Jackson, the reporter pondered where Jackson might have gotten this misinformation.
In July, Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump claimed he did not know Harris was black. “I’ve known her indirectly for a long time,” Trump said during an appearance before the National Association of Black Journalists. “She was always of Indian descent and just promoted Indian descent. I didn’t know she was black until she happened to become black a few years ago.” He added, “She made a turn and became a black person, and I think somebody should look into that,” apparently suggesting that she became “a black person” to gain political advantage.
The Guardian also asked Jackson if she thought America was ready for Harris. “Honestly, I don’t want to answer that because I really don’t know. I think it’s going to be chaos either way,” Jackson said.
