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‘She’s not black’: Janet Jackson sends left into frenzy after questioning Kamala’s race

September 22, 2024 | | Print Article

Speaking to Vice President Kamala Harris’ race found a pop icon facing cancel culture backlash amid claims of spreading “disinformation.”

After Oprah Winfrey assured her audience that everyone would get a word salad courtesy of her guest, Vice President Kamala Harris, the nominee’s latest interview reinforced the need for a basement campaign.

Right on cue, The Guardian was ready with a distraction to keep vibes and feelings the focal point of the White House bid as Janet Jackson was quoted questioning the vice president’s race. After speaking with Nosheen Iqbal while promoting her Together Again tour, Jackson’s remarks were shared on the “Weekend” podcast.

“Well, you know what they supposedly said? She’s not black. That’s what I heard. That she’s Indian,” said the “Rhythm Nation” performer as the host contended the vice president was both. “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.”

Reminding the audience that Donald J. Harris is a Jamaican economist and emeritus professor at Stanford University, Iqbal went on to ask if her guest thought the United States was ready for a woman president who was also a person of color.

“I don’t know. 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,” remarked Jackson.

The issue of Harris’ racial identity remained a favored topic of corporate media, particularly as former President Donald Trump had opined on it while speaking before the National Association of Black Journalists in July.

“I’ve known her for a long time, indirectly, and she was always of Indian heritage, and she was only promoting Indian heritage,” the president said. “I did not 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.”

For sharing what she had heard without being quoted as making a judgment one way or the other about Harris’ race, Jackson faced sharp criticism from both corporate media and social media users determined to defend their preferred presidential nominee.

Meanwhile, overlooked in Jackson’s remarks was how she had brought up, “Well, there’s all this child trafficking crap that’s going on and sex trafficking crap, you know what I mean, that wasn’t so prevalent then? At least, we didn’t know about it back then. I don’t think we did, did we? Not really. I think it’s really now out in the open, because it’s like a billion dollar business and all that crap.”

Despite the expected backlash from those who’d push any narrative to oppose Trump returning to the White House, Jackson had her own defenders as well as many pointed out that the media was responsible for favoring coverage of Harris’ Indian heritage.

Buzzfeed reported that Jackson’s manager, Mo Elmasri provided a statement that read, “She deeply respects Vice President Kamala Harria and her accomplishments as a Black and Indian woman. Janet apologizes for any confusion caused and acknowledges the importance of accurate representation in public discourse.”

Kevin Haggerty
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