TWIST: Janet Jackson’s “Apology” Was Unauthorized

Variety reports:

After a confusing turn of events on Sunday, reps for Janet Jackson tell Variety that an unusually worded “apology” for the singer’s ill-informed comments about Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris’ racial background was made by a person who is not the singer’s manager, as he had claimed, and thus was not authorized to speak on her behalf.

The unauthorized “apology,” first reported by Buzzfeed and repeated by multiple major outlets, was made by a man named Mo Elmasri who — apparently inaccurately — claimed to be the singer’s manager.

The Daily Beast reports:

Representatives for singer Janet Jackson have clarified that an apology for claiming that Vice President Kamala Harris is “not Black,” never actually came from her at all.

An apparent spokesperson for Jackson, Mo Elmasri, had told BuzzFeed that her comments were “based on misinformation.” But representatives for the singer say followed up by claiming that the comment was made without her knowledge or consent.

Elmasri is listed as Jackson’s manager on a number of industry sites–including IMDb pro and and Celebrity Service. He later told the Daily Beast he had been fired by Janet and brother Randy Jackson over The Guardian drama.

This is all beyond stupid. I’ve deleted yesterday’s “apology” post.

Janet Jackson has made things much worse — an apology that made the rounds today has been retracted as fake, and she has reiterated that only 1 person manages her, her brother Randy. (Who is a far-right Trumper and likely the fool who talked smack about Kamala to her.)

— Matthew Rettenmund (@mattrett) September 23, 2024