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Washington Bureau Chief
Janet Jackson has apologized after claiming that Kamala Harris is not black, repeating an outrageously false claim made by Harris’ White House rival, Donald Trump.
The 58-year-old singer, whose brother Tito died last week at the age of 70, made the surprising comments about the vice president when asked how he felt about the US having its first black female president.
In a new statement to BuzzFeed, Jackson’s manager, Mo El-Masri, said: “She has deep respect for Vice President Kamala Harris and her achievements as a Black, Indian woman.”
“Janet apologizes for any confusion and recognizes the importance of accurate representation in public debate. We appreciate the opportunity to address this issue and remain committed to promoting unity.”
The “All For You” singer previously said, “She’s not black. That’s what I’ve been told. She’s Indian. Her father is white. That’s what I’ve been told.”

Jackson later admitted that he hadn’t watched the news for a few days, but was told that someone had “discovered” that Harris’ father was “white.”
Harris was born in 1964 to Shyamala Gopalan, an Indian cancer researcher, and Donald Harris, a black economics professor from Jamaica.
Gopalan died of cancer in 2009 at age 70. Donald Harris, 86, is a professor emeritus of economics at Stanford University.
Jackson’s comments echo those made by Trump in a speech at the National Association of Black Journalists’ conference in Chicago in July.

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The former president claimed, “(Harris) has always been of Indian descent and has always promoted that. I didn’t know she was black until a few years ago, when she became black. And now she wants to be known as black.”
He asked: “So I don’t know if she’s Indian or black.”
Trump added: “I respect both people, but she clearly doesn’t, because she was Indian all along and then all of a sudden she turns around and becomes black. I think somebody should look into that as well.”
Harris has been outspoken about growing up with both backgrounds in mind: She attended Howard University, a historically black college in Washington, D.C., and is a member of Alpha Kappa Alpha, one of the nation’s first black sororities.
In 2021, Harris recalled going to a Bob Marley & The Wailers concert with her sister in 1978, when her father took her. It was her first concert. “We sat in the very back of the theater, watching the performance, in complete awe,” she told The Washington Post at the time. “To this day, I know the words to just about every Bob Marley song.
“My father, like many Jamaicans, took great pride in his Jamaican heritage and instilled that pride in me and my sister,” Harris told the outlet. “We love Jamaica. He taught us the history of where we come from, the struggles and beauty of the Jamaican people and the richness of our culture.”