We’re sorry, Ms. Jackson, but are you for real???
Over the weekend, The Guardian published a profile of trailblazing pop icon Janet Jackson, framed as a comeback as she readies the European leg of her “Together Again” tour.
And though the wide-ranging interview covers everything from her influence on the younger generation of pop stars to the fallout of the infamous “nipplegate” Super Bowl scandal to the unending swirl of controversies surrounding her late superstar brother Michael, all anyone can talk about are her unexpected and alarming comments about VP Kamala Harris, who very well could become the first Black female president.
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“Well, you know what they supposedly said?,” Jackson posed to journalist Nosheen Iqbal. “She’s not Black. That’s what I heard. That she’s Indian… Her father’s white. That’s what I was told.”
Wait, what? Did Jackson just parrot the MAGA-backed—and obviously debunked—conspiracy theory that Harris only recently “became a Black person” (Trump’s words)?
Even after the journalist politely stated that Harris is of dual heritage—her father is Jamaican, her mother Indian—and re-phrased the question, Jackson only doubled down, adding that she hadn’t “watched the news in a few days.”
Once published, the quotes became the talk of the internet, prompting anger, confusion, and a number of pleas for the performer to get herself informed.
Is this really the Janet Jackson we all know all love? The one who has long been a major proponent of social justice causes through her life and music, and who’s been a strident LGBTQ+ ally? Whose landmark album The Velvet Rope directly addressed homophobia, spawned the single “Together Again” in memory of those lost to AIDS, and even won a GLAAD media award?
It’s not like she flat-out endorsed Trump and his party’s anti-LGBTQ+ agenda, but questioning the legitimacy of Harris’s racial identity is concerning, to say the least, inspiring a number of longtime queer fans to speak out.
Popular web creator Kenneth Walden, a.k.a. @2RawTooReal, was among them, sharing the following video where he addresses Jackson directly:
“I do understand that you just lost your brother and you’re possibly still grieving,” Walden said, referring to her older brother Tito Jackson, who passed away on September 15. “But I’m just letting you know right now: You are too grown to be going off of the internet, or what you done heard. You need to start doing research.”
“For you not to understand or know who Vice President Kamala Harris is, or not know anything about her background, it’s very telling,” he adds, also bringing up the fact that, like Harris, Jackson has biracial children of her own.
But things get stranger still: In response to the public outrage, a man named Mo Elmasri—who was said to be Jackson’s manager—gave a statement to Buzzfeed on the singer’s behalf, claiming her remarks on the VP were “based on misinformation,” adding she “respects Harris’s dual heritage as both Black and Indian and apologizes for any confusion caused.”
Later that day, however, reps for Jackson’s team told Variety that the apology was “not authorized” due to the fact that Elmasri was not her manager and therefore did not speak on her behalf. In their reporting, writer Jem Aswad notes that Jackson is managed by her older brother Randy, while Elmasri is a filmmaker and consulting producer whose credits include an upcoming docuseries called Janet Jackson: Family First.
In an emailed response, Elmasri told Variety, “I no longer work for her. I was fired by Janet and Randy, after attempts to improve her image in front of public opinion and her fans, and this is something I do not deserve.”
The plot thickens, as they say.
Related*
If you’re nasty: 8 times Janet Jackson was a total badass
The singer announced this week that she has a new album and world tour coming this summer and we couldn’t be more excited.
As some internet detectives have pointed out, Jackson’s brother Randy follows Trump on Instagram, and even posted a friendly photo with RFK Jr.—in support of one of his conspiracy-laden books—back in 2021. Of course, we can’t make any further assumptions about his political beliefs, but it does make you wonder what sort of information he could be putting in his sister’s ear.
Who’s really in “Control” here?
Not for nothing, in Jackson’s recent Guardian profile, the writer notes their surprise over how much say Randy currently has in her career. “Of course he’s a big part [of the decision-making,]” the signer says of her brother with an eye roll. “He’s got a big head. A big muscle head.”
Janet Jackson is too talented, too influential, too important to Black and LGBTQ+ communities to become an unwitting mouthpiece for anti-progressive conspiracy theorists. We hope she can hear this blowback from the fans who have always loved and supported her, educate herself, and find a way to make things right before things get anymore nasty.
Related*
Janet Jackson on how the gay community inspired one of her biggest hits
“It’s a loving, all-embracing community that has always inspired me.”
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Kangol2
Her brother Randy, her manager, allegedly is a big DJT supporter and MAGA. Janet’s not that plugged in but apparently was and is getting her info from him. Step outside the bubble, Janet. Ignorance isn’t bliss.
Man About Town
I’m down with Kenneth Walden. You’d think she’d know better than to punctuate a public statement with “That’s what I was told.”
Assuming, of course, that she actually made that statement…