Janet Jackson warned voters of the potential chaos surrounding the upcoming November election in a recent interview with The Guardian. The Grammy-winning singer also repeated false claims about Vice President Kamala Harris‘ racial identity.
“’Well, you know what they supposedly said?’” Jackson told the news outlet. “‘She’s not Black. That’s what I heard. That she’s Indian.’”
When informed that Harris is both Black and Indian, Jackson pushed back, asserting that the presidential nominee’s father is neither.
“Her father’s white. That’s what I was told. I mean, I haven’t watched the news in a few days,” she said. “I was told that they discovered her father was white.”
Presidential nominee Donald Trump told journalists in August that his Democratic opponent Harris “turned Black” for political gain.
“’She was only promoting Indian heritage,’” Trump said in an interview at the National Association of Black Journalists convention. “’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…Is she Indian or is she Black?’”
Harris’ father has been confirmed to be a Jamaican immigrant. He came to the U.S. to pursue a PhD in economics. Her mother, who died in 2009, was an Indian immigrant.
Variety has reached out to Jackson’s representatives for comment.
Elsewhere in the interview, The Guardian asked Jackson if she thinks America is ready for Harris, to which she replied, “Honestly, I don’t want to answer that because I really, truthfully, don’t know. I think either way it goes is going to be mayhem.”
She then reiterated her belief that, regardless of who wins, she doesn’t expect a peaceful transition of power in the aftermath of the election.
“’I think there might be mayhem,’” Jackson said. “’Either way it goes, but we’ll have to see.’”