Vice President Kamala Harris on Tuesday denied a rumor surrounding singer Janet Jackson, after the famous artist stated that she was not black.
The vice president reacted to Jackson’s statement and the subsequent controversy during a town hall conversation with Charlamagne Tha God in Detroit, Michigan.
Charlamagne asked Harris to address the rumor on social media that Janet Jackson was angry at her because she prosecuted her brother, superstar singer Michael Jackson.
“That’s just not true on either count,” Harris said, laughing.
When asked if Jackson was angry with her, Harris admitted that she had not spoken to Janet Jackson since the controversy.
“I don’t know, I haven’t talked to her, but it’s certainly not true about her brother,” Harris said.
Janet Jackson, 58, questioned Harris’ race during an interview with The Guardian in September.
‘She’s not black. That’s what I heard. That she’s Indian,” Jackson said when asked her reaction to the idea of Harris being elected the first black woman president of the United States.
‘His father is white. “That’s what they told me,” Jackson continued. ‘I mean, I haven’t seen the news in a few days. They told me they discovered their father was white.
Janet Jackson, photographed during an interview on British television earlier this month, claimed that Kamala Harris is not black and that the vice president’s father is white.
Harris was born to Shyamala Gopalan, an Indian cancer researcher, and Donald Harris, a black economics professor from Jamaica (pictured together in the 1960s).
Harris identifies as black, as her father is from Jamaica and her mother is from India.
The issue became even more controversial after Jackson distanced himself from a statement issued on his behalf apologizing to Harris and dismissed the person who tried to quell the controversy.
Harris has frequently addressed questions about her race throughout her career, as she frequently dismisses critics who question her Blackness.
The vice president spoke at length with Carlomagno about campaign issues, as the sometimes critical host asked her to clarify a number of online issues related to her campaign.
When asked about prosecuting more than a thousand people for marijuana when he was California District Attorney, Harris denied it.
Democratic presidential candidate Vice President Kamala Harris (left) prepares to speak with Charlamagne Tha God
Democratic presidential candidate Vice President Kamala Harris (R) and Charlamagne Tha God hug before their interview at City Hall in Detroit, Michigan.
It’s simply not true. And what the public defenders will tell you in those days. “I was the most progressive prosecutor in California in marijuana cases,” Harris said.
As district attorney, Harris supervised 1,900 convictions for marijuana-related crimes according to the Mercury News, a higher rate than her predecessor, and also opposed legislation that would legalize marijuana until she became a United States senator.
He lamented “intentional” talking points about his record as a prosecutor in California.
‘One of the biggest challenges I face is lack of information and misinformation. And it serves a purpose because it aims to convince people that somehow they shouldn’t believe that the work I’ve done has happened and has meaning,” he said.
Harris also bristled at the idea that she and Biden mismanaged the border and deserved “a lot of the blame.”
“The first thing we ruled out was a bill to fix the broken immigration system,” he said defensively, blaming Congress for not passing it.
The vice president also recommitted to the idea of reparations for descendants of slavery.
“We have to study it, there is no doubt about that,” he said. “And I’ve been very clear about that position.”
