Janet said what? Janet Jackson recently repeated misinformation in regards to the presidential election, saying that she heard that Vice President Kamala Harris is “not Black,” leaving readers and many of her fans online stunned.
The pop star made these comments in an interview published this weekend with The Guardian. Promoting the current leg of her “Together Again” tour, the singer broke down her decades-spanning career in the interview, before echoing the false and debunked claims that the Vice President is not Black.
Jackson told the journalist in the interview, “Well, you know what they supposedly said? She’s not Black. That’s what I heard. That she’s Indian.” In the story, the journalist writes that they were “floored” upon hearing this, saying that the Vice President has both Black and Indian heritage. Jackson responded, “Her father’s white. That’s what I was told. I mean, I haven’t watched the news in a few days.” She adds that she was “told” that “ they discovered her father was white.”
She then went on to say that she does not know if America would be ready for a potential Kamala Harris presidency, saying, “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.”
Naturally, many longtime fans of Janet’s have taken to the internet with disappointment in the “Rhythm Nation” singer, who has long used her platform to stand up against social injustice worldwide.
One user wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter, that Jackson’s comments, “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!”
Another user shared similar sentiments, writing “Janet Jackson! Girl!!!!!” above a meme of Tiffany “New York” Pollard saying, “not you” repeatedly while shaking her head.
Another user wrote, that icons “are allowed one slip up in their career imo,” but that she better not “let it happen again. “I don’t believe Janet Jackson has enough political impact to swing the election in a significant way so I’m choosing to ignore this misstep for the sake of her iconary.”
However, another user mused that this speaks to a larger misinformation issue in the country at large, writing, “We have a misinformation crisis in America. And it’s been created and fueled with intention to sow distrust. It’s unfortunate to hear such a high profile person like Janet Jackson parroting it, but it’s a reminder of how far reaching it can get.”