Janet Jackson ‘apology’ over comments on Kamala Harris’ race didn’t come from her, claim singer’s reps

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: Representatives for Janet Jackson have stated that the singer did not issue an apology regarding her comments about Vice President Kamala Harris' racial identity.

The clarification comes after a statement was circulated, falsely attributed to Jackson, which suggested she had apologized for questioning Harris' Black heritage.

Janet Jackson's team clarifies unauthorized apology

Janet Jackson's team has confirmed that the apology did not originate from her or her authorized representatives.

“She’s not Black,” Jackson had said about Kamala Harris in an interview with The Guardian that was published on Saturday, September 21.

“That’s what I heard. That she’s Indian. 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.”

Shortly after Jackson's comments were published, Mo Elmasri, an Egyptian filmmaker who reportedly served as a creative consultant for Jackson, issued an apology on the singer's behalf to Buzzfeed.

Elmasri, who presented himself as Jackson's manager, allegedly informed the media that the pop star's comments on Harris' racial identity were "based on misinformation".

Representatives for Jackson confirmed to USA Today on Sunday, September 22, that her current manager is her brother, Randy Jackson. They added that Elmasri was not authorized to make statements to Buzzfeed and has never been part of Jackson's team.

Elmasri is credited as an executive producer for the forthcoming TV documentary series 'Janet Jackson: Family First', which is presently in production, as per Elmasri's IMDb profile.

Mo Elmasri claims he was fired by Janet Jackson

Hours after an unauthorized apology was issued, Mo Elmasri stated that he was dismissed by Janet Jackson and her brother, Randy, due to disagreements over a racial remark about Kamala Harris.

“Janet Jackson fired me due to disagreements between me, her, and Randy, after her meeting with The Guardian and her unbalanced statements,” in an emailed statement, Mo Elmasri informed the Daily Beast.

“That’s all I can say,” he added, and when pressed for further comment, he stated that he cannot “receive phone calls due to the large number of calls", while adding, “All support to Kamala Harris.”

Is Kamala Harris Black?

Kamala Harris is not half-White. Her father, Donald Harris, is a Jamaican-American economist and the first Black professor to receive tenure in Stanford University's economics department, Daily Beast reported.

She also has Indian heritage. Her late mother, Shyamala Gopalan, was a biomedical scientist who made significant contributions to research at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and originated from Chennai, India.

Harris, a graduate of the prestigious historically Black Howard University, often discusses her Black identity within the political sphere.

She had humorously remarked when questioned about marijuana use, "Half my family's from Jamaica, are you kidding me?"

Republicans have questioned Harris' racial identity. During a July appearance at the National Association of Black Journalists convention, Donald Trump said, "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?"

Internet reacts as Janet Jackson's team clarifies singer never issued apology for Kamala Harris comments

After Janet Jackson's team clarified that the apology over her comments on Kamala Harris' racial identity never came from her, many social media users slammed the pop star.

A user said, "So she’s a bigger idiot then. Ok that’s cool."

Another questioned, "Ok, so she still standing on that misinformed ignorant comment she made?!?"

The third commentator remarked, "So Janet still stand her stupidity."

"Where is your official apology to the Black American community for disrespecting us and calling us Akata," a person said.

Other chimed in, "Well, that’s disappointing, Janet. I thought she was better than this."

An X user wrote, "You've been cosplaying all this time. Where's the apology?"

This article contains remarks made on the Internet by individual people and organizations. MEAWW cannot confirm them independently and does not support claims or opinions being made online.