Whoopi Goldberg is standing by Janet Jackson after the singer faced criticism for remarks regarding Vice President Kamala Harris’s racial identity.
During a recent episode of The View, Goldberg urged people to show Jackson “a little grace” following her controversial comments.
Jackson sparked backlash after repeating a debunked claim originally made by Donald Trump in an interview with The Guardian.
She questioned Harris’s Black identity, saying, “She’s not Black. That’s what I heard. That she’s Indian,” and acknowledged she hadn’t “watched the news in a few days,” but was told that Harris’s father was white. Trump had previously suggested Harris “became Black” for political gain.
The The View panel did not hold back. Co-host Ana Navarro criticized Jackson for spreading misinformation, calling it “irresponsible” to repeat falsehoods, especially given Jackson’s platform.
“It was Donald Trump who tried to say Kamala Harris just turned Black,” Navarro noted.
Goldberg, however, was more forgiving.
She acknowledged Jackson’s misstep, arguing that everyone makes mistakes.
“Sometimes people get it wrong… A little grace for the girl, alright?” Goldberg said.
She pointed out that Jackson is “a musician,” not a political figure, and argued that she should not be judged harshly for her comments.
While Navarro agreed Jackson has the right to support or not support any candidate, she highlighted the singer’s failure to correct her mistake.
Co-host Alyssa Farah Griffin suggested Jackson may be consuming media from biased sources, while Sunny Hostin, who is biracial, defended Harris’s identity, noting that Harris’s presence as a multiracial woman running for office challenges long-standing societal norms.
The controversy continued as reports emerged of an apology allegedly issued on Jackson’s behalf by someone claiming to be her manager.
However, it was later clarified that Jackson’s actual manager, her brother Randy, had no involvement, and the apology was unauthorized.
