Janet Jackson reopens debate over Kamala Harris' race after claiming 'she's not black'

After several years off the radar, Janet Jackson is back in the spotlight. This is due to the artist questioning whether Vice President Kamala Harris is black in an interview.

Questioned by a journalist from The Guardian on her thoughts about the Democratic candidate potentially becoming the first black woman to be president of the United States, Janet Jackson denied that Harris belongs to this group: "She's not black. That's what I've heard. That she's Indian."

The interviewer, Nosheen Iqbal, noted that "well, she's both," but the artist did not back down: "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 discovered her father was white."

Bitter controversy in the media and online

Janet Jackson's statements provoked an earthquake among the left-wing media, which was quick to charge against the singer. Likewise, social media was filled with messages in support of and against the artist's words, including serious attacks on her and even on her late brother Michael Jackson.

Most of the criticism from the left accuses her of buying into the "racist" discourse of Donald Trump when he denied that the vice president was black, asserting that she always presented herself as Indian. Videos were retrieved by conservatives showing the vice president bragging about her Indian heritage without mentioning that she was black at any time.

For the time being, the Kamala Harris campaign has declined to respond to Janet Jackson.