Singer Janet Jackson’s representative has denied she has apologised for saying Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris “isn’t black”.

A representative for the owner of the song All For You told People on the evening of September 22 that the previous statement by Mo Elmasri – who claims to be Janet Jackson ‘s manager – was unauthorized.

Janet Jackson's apology about Kamala Harris was not from the singer - Photo 1.

Singer Janet Jackson (58 years old)

Her official representative told the press that Elmasri is not the singer’s manager and does not represent her in any way. Randy Jackson is the singer’s manager.

Elmasri previously claimed that Janet Jackson had apologized for her comments about Kamala Harris ‘s race “based on false information.” The Feedback hitmaker was heavily criticized after questioning Harris’s race in an interview with The Guardian published on September 21.

Janet Jackson's apology about Kamala Harris was not from the singer - Photo 2.

US presidential candidate Kamala Harris

When the pop star was asked what she thought about Americans voting for the first black presidential candidate, Janet said of Harris: “Harris is not black. She’s Indian. Her father is white. That’s what I’ve been told. I mean, I haven’t watched the news in a few days and I’ve been told that a lot of people found out her father was white.”

Kamala Harris’ mother, Dr. Shyamala Gopalan, grew up in India. Her father, Donald J. Harris, emigrated from Jamaica to study economics at the University of California, Berkeley, where he met Ms. Gopalan.

Janet was then asked whether America was ready for Harris, 59, to enter the Oval Office instead of her Republican rival, former President Donald Trump.

“I don’t know,” the five-time Grammy winner replied. “Honestly, I don’t want to answer that question because I really don’t know. I think it’s going to be chaos no matter what.”

The Nasty singer was quickly criticised on social media for her comments.

“This is why she became anonymous and lived off her brother’s success,” one person wrote on X, referring to Janet’s late brother Michael Jackson.

Janet Jackson's apology about Kamala Harris was not from the singer - Photo 3.

Janet Jackson and her brother Michael Jackson

“I’ve always been a Janet Jackson fan but this is not it. Stop it,” another chimed in.

“Janet, you know better than to believe that nonsense… especially after all the racial controversies Michael has been through,” one music critic wrote. Some have pointed out that Michael Jackson’s skin tone became lighter in the early 1990s, which he attributed to vitiligo.

Many others compared Janet Jackson’s controversial comments to Donald Trump’s false claim that Harris had changed her skin color. The former US president said in July 2024 at the National Association of Black Journalists: “I’ve known Kamala Harris for a long time, indirectly. She’s of Indian descent and she’s promoting her Indian heritage. I didn’t know Kamala Harris was black until years ago when she accidentally changed her skin color and now she wants to be known as black.”