To quote Higher Learning podcast host Rachel Lindsay, “It’s been a tough week for the Jacksons.”
On Sept. 15, Jackson 5 founding member Tito Jackson died at the age of 70 after suffering a heart attack. On Sept. 21, The Guardian published a wide-ranging interview with singer Janet Jackson about motherhood, growing up in such a famous family, and the upcoming 2024 presidential election. The artist, who has rarely taken fans behind her fabled velvet rope, made news after questioning presidential candidate Vice President Kamala Harris’ racial background. The move caused many to wonder how such a beloved Black icon could be so out of touch and why she isn’t being held accountable for spreading lies.
When I first heard that Jackson said Harris wasn’t Black, I immediately brushed it off as just another social media lie. After all, this election season has been rife with bots, misleading memes, and disinformation campaigns on X, formerly known as Twitter. So, seeing tweets circulate that one of the most well-known Black pop stars in the world disparaged the first Black woman to be nominated to the highest political office in the United States didn’t immediately alarm me. But then, I saw a link to The Guardian article and read it myself.
And, yeah … Janet said that sh–.
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After being asked how she feels about Harris possibly making history, Jackson said, “Well, you know what they supposedly said? She’s not Black. That’s what I heard. That she’s Indian.” When the reporter told her Harris is of Black and South Asian descent, Jackson responded, “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.”
Jackson’s comments predictably caused a ruckus in social media. Harris’ supporters and detractors either gave the singer grace for being wrong or used her words to further attack the vice president. The View co-host Whoopi Goldberg chalked Jackson’s comments up to just making a mistake. “Sometimes people get it wrong and they’re wrong! They made a mistake; they were wrong. It happens,” Goldberg said on the show.
But this just isn’t your run-of-the-mill “mistake.” Jackson didn’t mispronounce Harris’ name or blank on who her running mate is. Instead, she parroted a right-wing conspiracy theory that seeks to discredit Harris by questioning her racial identity. As the mother of a biracial child (she has a son with her former husband, Qatari business executive Wissam Al Mana) — and the aunt of several more — Jackson should know firsthand that Black folks can be multiracial and multihued. And yet, the Control singer seemed confused about Harris, even after being informed that the Democratic nominee is indeed Black.
Of course, Jackson could easily clear this whole thing up by issuing a statement about her comments, but so far, that hasn’t happened. Someone allegedly connected to the singer shared an apology on Jackson’s behalf with Buzzfeed, but the Jackson camp quickly slapped it down, calling it “unauthorized.”
This begs the question that if Jackson’s team can respond to a fake apology so quickly, why she hasn’t cleared up her misinformed statements about Harris.
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Some point to her brother Tito’s death as the reason for Jackson’s lack of clarification, but while the family continues to mourn, the singer’s reps still had time to rebuke that bogus apology. Others have looked to her older brother and manager Randy Jackson’s support for right-wing ideas as the reason Jackson regurgitated this conspiracy so easily. Either way, Jackson is an adult who has been a celebrity most of her life. She’s not a child who doesn’t know better. After five decades in the business she knows how to manage a public relations misstep, so her decision to stay quiet leads us to an uncomfortable truth: Jackson must either believe what she said about Harris, or she’s completely divorced from reality and how consequential this election is for Black folks.
The Jackson siblings grew up as Jehovah’s Witnesses, a religion that advises its members not to vote or engage in politics. To that end, Jackson has never been explicitly political — she hasn’t campaigned for a candidate, though she did speak out in support of former President Barack Obama a few months into his first term in 2009. Still, she needs to be held accountable for spreading misinformation about Harris and refusing to correct the record. We’ve called out others for similar missteps, such as rapper Meek Mill for repeating debunked ideas about Harris’ record as a prosecutor in California, model Amber Rose for claiming the vice president is “pandering to Black people,” or NFL player Sauce Gardner for being apolitical in a time when the stakes are just simply too high for Black folks. So Jackson should not be exempt because we hold her dear. She needs to be called out — lovingly, of course — because telling a reporter “you heard” Harris’ dad was white is simply unacceptable, especially in 2024.
To be clear, Jackson does not have to engage in politics. I would prefer she didn’t if she’s going to be this misinformed about basic facts. But while we still love Jackson — and will continue to ride for her in her fans’ ongoing war against singer-songwriter Justin Timberlake — if she is going to start publicly wading in the political waters, she will have to do her homework and take control of her voice and vote.
Britni Danielle is the Senior Culture Editor for Andscape. A die-hard Lakers fan, she can’t wait for the day they win one more championship than the Boston Celtics.
