This story has been updated with new information.
A person claiming to be Janet Jackson’s manager has issued an unauthorized “apology,” according to the singer’s rep.
Mo Elmasri’s statement allegedly referred to the singer’s interview with The Guardianpublished on September 21, in which Janet, 58, questioned whether Vice President Kamala Harris was black.
Janet’s rep told PEOPLE on Sunday that Elmasri is not Janet’s manager, nor is he affiliated with her camp. The rep says Randy Jackson is Janet’s manager.
A statement released earlier Sunday from Elmasri, who the singer’s rep says does not represent Janet in any capacity, claimed the singer was sorry for making comments about Harris that were “based on misinformation.”
On Saturday, Janet falsely claimed that The Guardian that Harris, 59, is not black, repeating a right-wing conspiracy theory.
Janet Jackson 2023
Dave Bennett/Getty
Donald Trump says he won’t debate Kamala Harris again: ‘Polls clearly show I won’
During an interview with a British publication, it was mentioned that Harris could become the first black woman to be elected president. In response, Janet said, “Well, you know what they supposedly said?”
“She’s not black. That’s what I heard. That she’s Indian,” the singer added. When the reporter replied that Harris was both, Janet falsely claimed, “Her father is white. That’s what I was told. I mean, I haven’t watched the news in a few days.”
“I was told that they found out that her father is White,” she added.
Never miss a story — subscribe to PEOPLE’s free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.
Janet added that she wasn’t sure if America was “ready” for a “woman of color” to be president. “I don’t know,” she said. “Honestly, I don’t want to answer that because I really, honestly, don’t know. I think it’s going to be chaos either way.”
“I think there could be chaos,” Janet answered when asked if she didn’t think there would be a “peaceful transition of power.”
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 Gopalan.
:max_bytes(150000):strip_icc():focal(1574x0:1576x2)/Janet-Jackson-090923-2-3c24413c96484dc0bc5218ecab192653.jpg)
Janet Jackson 2023
Gilbert Flores/WWD via Getty
Kamala Harris Parents: All About Her Mom Shyamala Gopalan and Dad Donald J. Harris
Presidential candidate Donald Trump previously made false claims about Harris’ race at the National Association of Black Journalists (NABJ) convention in July, saying “she has become a black person.”
“She was always of Indian descent and she was just promoting Native American heritage,” Trump claimed at the time. “I didn’t know she was black until a few years ago when she accidentally became black and now she wants to be known as black. So I don’t know if she’s Native American or if she’s black?”
“But you know what, I respect anybody, I respect anybody, but she obviously doesn’t, because she was Native American through and through, and then all of a sudden she made a U-turn, and she went—she became black. person,” Trump continued.
Categories: Trends
Source: HIS Education