An apology attributed to Janet Jackson for comments made about Kamala Harris’ race was not authorised by the singer herself, her team has confirmed.
Over the weekend, Janet made headlines thanks to an interview she gave to The Guardian, in which she claimed she’d “heard” a false claim that the US presidential candidate is “not Black”.
Asked about the forthcoming election, the Grammy winner said of Harris: “You know what they supposedly said? She’s not Black. That’s what I heard. That she’s Indian.”
When the Guardian’s interviewer pointed out that the current vice president is mixed race (her mother was an Indian biologist, while her father is an economist from Jamaica), Janet repeated the falsehood: “Her father’s white. That’s what I was told.
“I mean, I haven’t watched the news in a few days. I was told that they discovered her father was white.”
On Sunday, BuzzFeed published an apology initially attributed to Janet’s manager, which blamed her comments on “misinformation”.
“Janet apologises for any confusion caused and acknowledges the importance of accurate representation in public discourse,” the comment read. “We appreciate the opportunity to address this and will remain committed to promoting unity.”
However, Janet’s team later insisted to Variety and USA Today that she had not signed off on this statement, and that the man in question is not her manager.
Janet is, in fact, managed by her brother, Randy, with Variety claiming that the siblings were “unavailable for comment” as they are “said to be mourning their older brother Tito”, who died earlier this month at the age of 70.
HuffPost UK has also contacted Janet Jackson’s team for comment.
Elsewhere in her interview with The Guardian, Janet suggested there “might be mayhem” regardless of whether Harris or her opponent Donald Trump wins the upcoming election.
“I don’t know,” she responded when asked whether she thinks America is “ready” for a woman of colour to be president. “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.”
The Together Again star is due to embark on her first UK tour in more than a decade later this week.