Janet Jackson’s Reps Dismiss Fake ‘Apology’ To Kamala Harris

Janet Jackson has not walked back her comments about Vice President Kamala Harris despite reports claiming that the pop icon apologized.

Reps for the singer have now claimed that the individual who issued the alleged apology on her behalf has “no connection” to Jackson.

Janet Jackson came under fire for the shocking remarks she made about Kamala Harris, including that the presidential candidate’s father is a “white” man.

According to TMZ, Jackson has not walked back her misinformed remarks about Vice President Harris.

A person known as Mo Elmasri, who claimed to be the singer’s manager to BuzzFeed, issued an “apology” on her behalf, saying that Jackson “deeply respects Vice President Kamala Harris and her accomplishments as a Black and Indian woman.”

Elmasri added, “Janet apologizes for any confusion caused and acknowledges the importance of accurate representation in public discourse.”

However, Jackson’s representatives have now dismissed the apology, noting that Elmasri has “absolutelyno connection” to the singer and that her only manager is her brother, Randy Jackson.

This means that Jackson has yet to issue an actual apology for her comments on  Harris’ race.

In her The Guardian interview, Jackson, while admitting she wasn’t well-informed, speculated about Harris’ family background and the race of her father,

She said, “Well, you know what they supposedly said? She’s not Black. That’s what I heard. That she’s Indian.”

After the interviewer clarified that Harris is of both Black and South Asian descent, the five-time Grammy winner took things a step further by claiming the vice president’s father is white.

“Her father’s white,” Jackson stated. “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’s remarks seem to echo a conspiracy theory pushed by the Republican presidential nominee, Donald Trump.

During a July event with the National Association of Black Journalists, Trump questioned Harris’ identity, saying, “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?”

However, Harris’ heritage is well-documented. Her father, Donald Harris, is a Jamaican-American economist who taught at Stanford University, while her late mother, Shyamala Gopalan, was an accomplished breast cancer researcher from southern India.

Both parents immigrated to the U.S. and met while studying at the University of California, Berkeley.

The singer’s comments in the Guardian interview led to her being severely criticized on social media, and many were shocked that Jackson would spread such misinformation.

One comment on X read, “As a true 90’s girl I’m deeply saddened to discover JanetJackson is stupid. A tiny part of me just died.”

Another person said, “This whole JanetJackson thing just goes to show you how out of touch some celebrities are. I’ve always loved her but repeating lies!? Smh. If you don’t know about a subject, then don’t speak on it… especially with your platform. Educate yourself, please!”

A fan of the singer wrote, “I’ve loved JanetJackson since I was a kid. To find out that she’s a complete dumb-ss is so disappointing, but she can kick rocks. We don’t have time for this bullsh-t right now.”

In a candid interview with the BBC, Jackson opened up about how she continues to cope with the loss of her brother, Michael Jackson, more than 15 years after his death in June 2009.

She reflected on their 1995 collaboration, “Scream,” a poignant moment that she describes as emotional, saying, “listening to him every night, seeing him, remembering us.”

The singer recalled creating the track with her brother, saying, “Mike and I wrote that song in New York, in his apartment.” She added that she relives “that whole journey, listening to him sing it,” and remembers “what he was going through at that time.”

The 58-year-old reflected on her role as his support system, noting: “And just me being his little sister, always by his side, and being that support system. That’s always been my role.”

The track “Scream” expresses Michael’s frustrations with the media and the injustice he felt. Its lyrics include, “I’m tired of injustice, I’m tired of the schemes/ Your lies are disgusting.”