Janet Jackson has expressed doubts about Vice President Kamala Harris’s identity as a Black woman, as well as concerns about the upcoming election, implying that “mayhem” is on the horizon.
Janet Jackson questioned Kamala Harris’ race in an interview with The Guardian on Saturday, September 21.
During the interview, the music icon touched on various topics, but her comments about the Vice President have sparked significant conversation. Jackson seemed to question Harris’s racial identity, which has been a point of contention for some since the VP’s rise to prominence.
Kamala Harris, who became the Democratic nominee after President Joe Biden dropped out of the race on July 21, will face former President Donald Trump, the Republican presidential nominee, in November.
However, as both candidates seek to reach out to Black voters, Harris’ racial identity has emerged as an ongoing talking point. If elected, she would be the first Black American woman and the first South Asian American president of the United States.
Harris, who has long been proud of her biracial heritage, was born to Indian and Jamaican immigrants. She is the daughter of a Jamaican father and an Indian mother. The Democratic presidential candidate has often stated that her mother intentionally raised her and her sister as Black because of how the world would perceive them.
However, this has not stopped some from questioning her authenticity and connection to the Black community.
“Well, you know what they supposedly said?” Janet Jackson asked, referring to the Vice President’s mixed heritage. “She’s not Black — that’s what I heard, that she’s Indian.”
The interview author noted that the singer was corrected after being told that Harris has Indian heritage but is also Black.
“Her father’s white,” Jackson is quoted as saying. “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.”
“I don’t know,” Jackson reportedly continued. “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.”
In July, former President Donald Trump stated that the vice president “turned Black” for political gain after previously “only promoting Indian heritage.”
The vice president’s campaign is yet to respond to Jackson’s remarks.
