The View’s Whoopi Goldberg fiercely defends Janet Jackson after singer claimed Kamala Harris is ‘not Black’

The View host Whoopi Goldberg fiercely defended Janet Jackson during Monday’s episode of the ABC program, urging critics to show the singer “some grace” after she claimed Vice President Kamala Harris is not black.

Jackson, 58, made the shocking claim in an interview with The guardwhen asked how she felt about the United States possibly having its first black female president.

Emotions flared at The View panel, with Ana Navarro accusing the superstar of “spreading misinformation,” while Sunny Hostin said she “didn’t want to give it that much attention.” Whoopi, 68, was having none of it.

When Ana, 52, sarcastically suggested that Jackson “has a phone,” Whoopi shot back: “Wait a minute, wait a minute, yeah, she has a phone — Janet Jackson is not a political animal. She’s a musician, her life revolves around this, and she’s grieving for her brother,” referring to the recent death of Tito Jackson.

The Sister Act star continued, “Sometimes I’ve said things and I’ve been wrong, but people want you to say something right away. But when people come up to you and say, ‘Hey, you’re stupid, you don’t know…’ you know, you don’t want to answer people and that sucks, I gotta tell you.

Whoopi Goldberg (left) has fiercely defended Janet Jackson (right) and her comments about Vice President Kamala Harris

Jackson said Harris is not black when asked about the presidential candidate in a recent interview

‘Sometimes people do it wrong, and they’re wrong. They made a mistake, they were wrong, it happens [and] anybody who says it doesn’t happen to everybody, multiracial or not, we all do it. So, a little mercy for the girl, a little mercy for the girl, okay?’

However, Ana was quick to point out that Jackson herself has not openly said that she “made a mistake.” She claimed, “We don’t know what she said, it was one thing and another.”

“I think Janet Jackson, just like any other American, whether you’re a celebrity or not, has the right to support, endorse or not support whoever they want. She has every right to not like Kamala Harris if she doesn’t want to.”

“But she didn’t say that!” Whoopi responded, while Ana continued, “No, what she did was spread misinformation. I think it’s very irresponsible, when you have a platform like Janet Jackson does, to casually use that platform to spread misinformation based on a racist accusation by Donald Trump, right?

“It was Donald Trump who tried to say that Kamala Harris just turned black. So let’s go through the 101: Kamala Harris is the daughter of two immigrants. Her mother is South Asian, from India, her father is black, from Jamaica. Here’s a picture for anyone who… or for Ms. Jackson, if you’re mean, here’s the damn picture!”

Sara Haines was keen to share her thoughts and referred to the ‘identity issue’ when she said: ‘The fastest growing group in this country is mixed race people, not mixed race bisexual people. So when you ask people, “What are you?” it’s not. My biracial friends always struggled with not being white enough or black enough and always stuck in the middle.

“The world is moving towards the middle and so we need to be more open about people’s identities and what they identify with and be somewhat civil about that,” the 46-year-old said.

Sunny, 55, added: “Well, I think you’re allowed to identify, and as one of the multiracial people at the table here, I will say this, I would approach this the same way Kamala Harris has, which is not to make light of it.

Ana Navarro accused Jackson of spreading ‘misinformation’ while defending Harris

Sunny Hostin (left) said Jackson’s comments were “unfortunate,” as her co-host Alyssa Farah Griffin (right) looked on

Vice President Harris identifies as Black because her mother is South Asian and her father is from Jamaica

“I think Kamala is breaking down barriers just by being in the room, regardless of whether Janet Jackson thinks she’s black, white, or Indian. The fact that she’s in the room, I think, breaks down the perceived societal norms that we’ve seen in the almost 250 years of this country about what a presidential candidate should look like.

“And so I think that’s the biggest thing and I also think that if you’re biracial or multiracial, you can identify yourself in whatever way you want. Now she’s identified as a black woman. She’s also said that her mother is Asian, she didn’t just become black.

‘And so it’s unfortunate that Janet Jackson, an icon, admittedly said, “I don’t know, I haven’t read the news the last few days.” So I don’t know if it’s misinformation. I don’t know if it’s lack of information, but I just know I don’t want to give it that much air.’

When asked if Harris might become the first black female president, Jackson told The Guardian: “Well, you know what they supposedly said? She’s not black. That’s what I heard. That she’s Indian.

“Her father is white. That’s what I was told. I mean, I haven’t been watching the news for a couple of days. I was told that they found out her father is white.”

Whoopi pictured with Janet Jackson during an episode of The View in February 2020

In her interview with The Guardian, Jackson admitted that she “hadn’t watched the news for a few days”

In response to a flood of criticism and disappointment over the pop star’s comments – which are similar to those of 2024 Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump – her manager released a statement to Buzzfeed.

Mo Elmasri, Jackson’s manager, attempted to clear the air by saying that Jackson had been misinformed about the matter.

She told Buzzfeed: ‘She has great respect for Vice President Kamala Harris and her accomplishments as a Black and Indian woman.

‘Janet apologises for any confusion that has arisen and recognises the importance of accurate representation in public debate.’

She concluded her statement by saying that she and Jackson are “committed to promoting unity.”

However, hours later, Jackson’s management said that an unauthorized party had spoken on the singer’s behalf. The management told Variety that the widely circulated statement came from someone who is not the Grammy-winning artist’s manager.