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Janet Jackson is sorry she questioned US Vice President Kamala Harris’ race.
The singer, 58, was met with a huge backlash over the weekend after she falsely claimed during an interview with The Guardian the 59-year-old Democrat wasn’t black, in an echo of a right-wing conspiracy theory.
On Sunday the Grammy winner issued an apology statement for her remarks to People, which said: “Janet Jackson acknowledges that her recent comments about Vice President Kamala Harris’ racial identity were based on misinformation. She extends her sincerest apologies for any confusion caused and reaffirms her respect for Harris’ dual heritage as both Black and Indian.”
“Janet remains committed to fostering unity, inclusion, and understanding and is grateful for the opportunity to clarify her stance.
“She will continue to use her platform to support leaders who represent diversity and progress.”
Janet made her controversial remark about Kamala in her chat with The Guardian, which was published on Saturday, when her interviewer said the politician could become the first black woman to be elected US president.
Janet replied: “Well, you know what they supposedly said? She’s not black. That’s what I heard. That she’s Indian.”
When the Guardian reporter told Janet that Kamala is actually both, the singer falsely declared: “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.”
The singer added she wasn’t sure if the US was “ready” for a “woman of colour” as leader in the White House, adding: “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.”
Kamala’s mother Dr Shyamala Gopalan was raised in India and her father Donald J Harris, immigrated from Jamaica to study economics at the University of California in Berkeley, which is where he met Shyamala.
Kamala’s US presidential election rival Donald Trump, 78, previously sparked outrage when he made false claims about Harris’ race at the National Association of Black Journalists convention in July, saying she “became a Black person”.
He said: “She was always of Indian heritage, and she was only promoting the Indian heritage.
“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?”
