Whoopi Goldberg wants to apologize for her friend Janet Jackson after the pop icon caused controversy with her recent remarks about Vice President Kamala Harris.
In an interview with The Guardian published on Saturday, Jackson expressed doubts about Harris’ biracial identity when asked about the prospect of the US getting its “first black president”, claiming that Harris is not black.
The Democratic presidential candidate’s father, Donald Harris, is from Jamaica, while her late mother, Shyamala Gopalan, was Indian. Jackson claimed in the interview that Donald Harris was “discovered” as a white man.
Jackson’s comments quickly sparked backlash online. Goldberg, who starred with Jackson in the 2010 Tyler Perry drama “For Colored Girls,” spoke about the fallout during a panel discussion on “The View” on Monday.
“Sometimes people are wrong and they are wrong! They made a mistake, they were wrong. That happens,” Goldberg said, adding that Jackson is not a “political animal.”
“Who’s to say this doesn’t happen to all of us, biracial or not, we all do it. So, OK, a little leniency for the girl. A little leniency for the girl,” Goldberg said.
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However, Goldberg’s co-host, political commentator Ana Navarro, was not so quick to let bygones be bygones.
“I think Janet Jackson, like any other American, famous or not, has the right to support whoever she wants,” Navarro said. “She has every right to dislike Kamala Harris if she doesn’t want to. What she did was spread misinformation.”
“And I think it’s very irresponsible when you have a platform like Janet Jackson and you carelessly use that platform to spread misinformation based on an accusation of racism by Donald Trump.”
Jackson’s comments about Harris’ race are similar to those of former President Donald Trump. During a July appearance at the National Association of Black Journalists convention, the Republican presidential candidate said he “didn’t know (Harris) was black until a few years ago, when she happened to become black.”
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Shortly after Jackson’s comments were published, Mo Elmasri, an Egyptian filmmaker who reportedly worked as a creative consultant for Jackson, apologized to Buzzfeed on the singer’s behalf.
Elmasri, who claimed to be Jackson’s manager, reportedly told the outlet that the pop star’s comments about Harris’ ethnic identity were “based on misinformation.”
Jackson’s current manager is her brother Randy Jackson, Jackson’s representatives confirmed to USA TODAY on Sunday. Elmasri was not authorized to make the statement to Buzzfeed, the singer’s representatives added, nor has he ever worked on Jackson’s team.
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USA TODAY has contacted Randy Jackson for comment.
According to Elmasri’s IMDb page, Elmasri is listed as an executive producer on the upcoming TV documentary series “Janet Jackson: Family First,” which is currently in production.
