Janet Jackson ‘apology’ over remarks about Kamala Harris ‘was not authorised’
An apology issued on behalf of Janet Jackson after she made comments about Kamala Harris’s racial background was unauthorised, it is understood.
In an interview published in the Guardian, the 58-year-old singer repeated the false claim that the vice president “is not black”.
A statement said to have been shared on Jackson’s behalf later stated her comments were wrong and “based on misinformation”.
The statement had come from Mo Elmasri, who said he was Jackson’s manager.
First shared with Buzzfeed, the statement read: “Janet Jackson would like to clarify her recent comments. She recognises that her statements regarding Vice President Kamala Harris‘ racial identity were based on misinformation.
“Janet respects Harris’ dual heritage as both Black and Indian and apologises for any confusion caused. She values the diversity Harris represents and understands the importance of celebrating that in today’s society.
“Janet remains committed to promoting unity and understanding.”
Kamala Harris’ father is Jamaican and her mother was Indian Pic: Reuters
Sky News understands that representatives for Jackson did not authorise the release of the statement.
The singer is currently managed by her brother Randy.
Mr Elmasri has since claimed he was “fired” due to what he called “attempts to improve [Janet’s] image in front of public opinion and her fans”.
He went on to offer his support to Ms Harris, in a statement to Sky News.
Sky News has contacted Jackson’s representatives for a response to Mr Elmasri’s claims.
Read more:
Trump ‘would-be assassin wrote note saying he intended to kill him’
Kamala Harris says anyone breaking into her home is ‘getting shot’
Jackson’s original comments about Ms Harris, the Democratic presidential candidate, were in response to a question from a Guardian journalist about the potential for the US to have its first black female president.
Jackson reportedly said: “Well, you know what they supposedly said? She’s not black. That’s what I heard. That she’s Indian.”
When informed by interviewer Nosheen Iqbal that Ms Harris’s mother was Indian and her father is Jamaican, Jackson said: “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.”
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
Trump questions Kamala Harris’s racial identity
Ms Harris’s father Donald J Harris, 86, is an economist and Stanford University professor emeritus, who was born in Jamaica and is black.
Her mother Shyamala Gopalan, a cancer researcher, was born in southern India and died in 2009 aged 70.
Ms Harris has described herself as African American and South Asian Indian American.
Jackson’s reported comments come after Donald Trump said Ms Harris had “turned black” as he addressed the National Association of Black Journalists convention in July.
“She was always of Indian heritage, and she was only promoting the Indian heritage,” the Republican presidential nominee said.
“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?”
Jackson is currently promoting the European leg of her Together Again tour and a forthcoming residency in Las Vegas.
Her older brother Tito – who was a member of the Jackson 5 – died last week aged 70.
Donald Trump has said he is considering “taking away” the US citizenship of actress and comedian Rosie O’Donnell, despite a Supreme Court ruling that expressly prohibits a government from doing so.
In a post on Truth Social on Saturday, the US president said: “Because of the fact that Rosie O’Donnell is not in the best interests of our Great Country, I am giving serious consideration to taking away her Citizenship.”
He also labelled O’Donnell, who has moved to Ireland, as a “threat to humanity” and said she should “remain in the wonderful country of Ireland, if they want her”.
O’Donnell responded on Instagram by posting a photograph of Mr Trump with Jeffrey Epstein.
“You are everything that is wrong with America and I’m everything you hate about what’s still right with it,” she wrote in the caption.
“I’m not yours to silence. I never was.”
Rosie O’Donnell moved to Ireland after Donald Trump secured a second term. Pic: AP
O’Donnell moved to Ireland with her 12-year-old son in January after Mr Trump had secured a second term.
She has said she’s in the process of obtaining Irish citizenship based on family lineage and that she would only return to the US “when it is safe for all citizens to have equal rights there in America”.
O’Donnell and the US president have criticised each other publicly for years, in an often-bitter back-and-forth that predates Mr Trump’s move into politics.
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
Will Trump address parliament on UK state visit?
This is just the latest threat by the president to revoke the citizenship of someone he has disagreed with, most recently his former ally Elon Musk.
But the two situations are different as while Musk was born in South Africa, O’Donnell was born in the US and has a constitutional right to American citizenship.
Read more from Sky News:
Kate’s ’emotional’ words for tearful tennis star
Music festival cancelled as headliner pulls out
Amanda Frost, a law professor at the University of Virginia School of Law, said the Supreme Court ruled in a 1967 case that the fourteenth amendment of the constitution prevents the government from taking away citizenship.
“The president has no authority to take away the citizenship of a native-born US citizen,” he added.
“In short, we are nation founded on the principle that the people choose the government; the government cannot choose the people.”
-
Sports3 years ago‘Storybook stuff’: Inside the night Bryce Harper sent the Phillies to the World Series
-
Sports1 year agoStory injured on diving stop, exits Red Sox game
-
Sports2 years agoGame 1 of WS least-watched in recorded history
-
Sports2 years agoMLB Rank 2023: Ranking baseball’s top 100 players
-
Sports4 years ago
Team Europe easily wins 4th straight Laver Cup
-
Sports2 years agoButton battles heat exhaustion in NASCAR debut
-
Environment2 years agoJapan and South Korea have a lot at stake in a free and open South China Sea
-
Environment2 years agoGame-changing Lectric XPedition launched as affordable electric cargo bike