The ladies of The View are famous for mixing it up and disagreeing on various topics, but when it came to Janet Jackson’s recent controversy about comments regarding Kamala Harris’ race, they couldn’t even agree on how much of a topic this should even be, much less their takes.
“What she did was spread misinformation,” said Ana Navarro of the iconic singer’s recent comments echoing Donald Trump’sassertion that the Democratic presidential nominee may not be Black.
The Republican nominee made the comment that Harris “became Black,” after she’d also talked about her Indian heritage. While her mother is South Asian, her father is Jamaican, making her biracial.
“I think it’s very irresponsible, when you have a platform the way Janet Jackson does, to use that platform carelessly, to spread misinformation based on a racist allegation by Donald Trump,” Navarro continued. This led to a wider discussion about mis- and disinformation as one of the biggest problems the modern world faces.
Sunny Hostin, who took the time on Monday’s show to remind her co-hosts that like Harris, she is also multi-racial, agreed with Harris’ approach to the whole race issue, which has been to essentially ignore it.
As for Jackson’s take on it, she added, “I don’t know if it comes from misinformation, I don’t know if it comes from a lack of information, but all I know is that I don’t want to give it this much air.”
Alyssa Farah Griffin gave a little grace to Jackson, talking about the prevelance of “information silos” that people live in, due to social media algorithms feeding users like information, and most people admitting to getting most of their news on these curated platforms.
Before the panel could move on, though, Whoopi Goldberg jumped in weighed in with great passion to defend Jackson, emphasizing that she’s “not a political animal.” The actress argued, “She’s a musician, her life is doing this, and she’s mourning her brother.”
The moderator went on to note that she, herself, has been known to get it wrong in the past, especially due to the immediacy of what they do on The View. “Sometimes people get it wrong and they’re wrong! They made a mistake, they were wrong. It happens,” she said.
“Anybody who says it doesn’t happen to every one of us, multiracial or not, we all do it. So okay, a little grace for the girl,” she concluded her message. “A little grace for the girl.”
Jackson came under fire after an interview published by The Guardian on Friday where she talked about the possibly of Harris becoming the first female Black president.
“Well, you know what they supposedly said?” Jackson said. “She’s not Black. That’s what I heard. That she’s Indian.” When told the vice president was, in fact, both, Jackson again pushed back.
“Her father’s white. That’s what I was told. I mean, I haven’t watched the news in a few days,” she shot back. “I was told that they discovered her father was white.”
In the aftermath of these claims, an apology falsely credited to Jackson, and reported in the media, began to make the rounds. That apology, from a man named Mo Elmasri claiming to be her manager, read as follows:
“Janet Jackson would like to clarify her recent comments. She recognizes that her statements regarding Vice President Kamala Harris’ racial identity were based on misinformation. Janet respects Harris’ dual heritage as both Black and Indian and apologizes for any confusion caused. She values the diversity Harris represents and understands the importance of celebrating that in today’s society. Janet remains committed to promoting unity and understanding.”
On Sunday, though, Jackson’s camp responded to the apology statement to say that it was unauthorized and that Elmasri is not her manager. Jackson has been managed by her brother Randy for years. Both are mourning the loss of brother Tito, who passed away last Sunday.
Variety reached out to Elmasri via email, who acknowledged, “I no longer work for [Janet Jackson].” “I was fired by Janet and Randy, after attempts to improve her image in front of public opinion and her fans,” he continued, “and this is something I do not deserve.”
He did not specify when he was purportedly fired, with Variety noting that sources close to Jackson’s team told them he’s not been directly associated with her. The outlet further reported that Elmasri’s IMDb page says he claims to be a “creative consultant” for stars like Jackson, Beyoncé, Britney Spears, and Selena Gomez.
