Janet Jackson: A Case Study On A Cultural Icon Who Misspoke
I will start off by saying — I love Janet Jackson down. You will never make me hate her. You will never make me not a fan.
I was literally just in a group chat Thursday planning to see her in Las Vegas at the end of the year/beginning of next for her upcoming residency… I could screenshot and post the messages, but of course I’m not.
Just know, I love her for real.
Let’s be clear. Janet Jackson is an ICON — all CAPS. She’s one of the most important, relevant, influential, and culturally significant artists to ever live. Period. Rhythm Nation. Iconic. That military jacket, that gloved countdown, that warehouse, and those moves are emblazoned in the culture’s psyche for anybody who knows and loves music. That music video will never be duplicated. Janet. A classic. If, That’s The Way Love Goes, Again, Because Of Love, and Any Time, Any Place all on one album. Insane. Control. Another classic album. What young woman hasn’t felt the lyrics to the titular single to their core? Nasty. That song gave us the infamous line — No, my first name ain’t baby. It’s Janet. Miss Jackson if ya’ nasty. All For You. Another classic album from Janet J. Damita Jo. Discipline. Underrated classics from Mother. Velvet Rope. My favorite. I mean this album…what can I say? I want to pay homage to it with my hair and outfit when I see her perform again. Together Again makes me think of my grandmother, and I cry every time I hear it, but they’re happy tears. I Get Lonely, Got ‘Til It’s Gone, You. A masterpiece.
With that said, the internet is abuzz about some comments Janet Jackson made about Vice President Kamala Harris’ race in an interview with The Guardian.
I’ll jump right into it. Janet Jackson told the interviewer, Nosheen Iqbal, that she’d heard that Kamala Harris isn’t a Black woman because it was recently “discovered” that Harris’ father is white.
Of course this isn’t true. Kamala Harris’ father, Donald Harris, is a Black Jamaican man. There are loads of family photos, and individual photos of Mr. Harris, to prove this.
Iqbal writes that towards the end of their sit-down, her conversation with the icon turned to the state of the nation. Iqbal points out that Jackson has always been socially conscious including, famously, in her 1989 hit song Rhythm Nation. She writes “[Jackson] is a prolific social media user, and has used her profile to support Black Lives Matter, to bring awareness to police brutality. Does she feel despondent about how slow change is in coming or is she hopeful about the future?”
At this point, she writes, the hitmaker brought up child trafficking and sex trafficking.
“Well, there’s all this child trafficking crap that’s going on and sex trafficking crap, you know what I mean, that wasn’t so prevalent then?” It’s a strange about-turn, not least because of the many allegations of child sexual abuse made against Michael. But it is also the most forceful she has been since we sat down. “At least, we didn’t know about it back then. I don’t think we did, did we? Not really. I think it’s really now out in the open, because it’s like a billion-dollar business and all that crap.”
I wonder what internet rabbit holes she’s been going down, but, before I can ask, she’s moved on.
Yes, this is a right-wing talking point. But, like the interviewer admits, she didn’t follow up, and Jackson moved on to something else. Implying Janet Jackson went down a conspiracy theory rabbit hole is nothing more than speculation and conjecture on the interviewer’s part. Throughout the interview, she had a tendency to negatively read into everything Jackson said or did, including the tone of her voice calling it “sheepish” and a “stage whisper,” and mentioning she needed to move her tape recorder closer to Jackson while she spoke. Iqbal even goes as far as to appear to criticize Jackson for not having anxieties, or at least not expressing them to her, about giving birth to her first, and only, child at 50. I mean, the author says more than once that Jackson is private about her life and her feelings, so what did she expect? Iqbal writes —
She was 50 when she gave birth to Eissa, but seems happily detached from any anxieties about being an older parent.
What does this even mean???
Iqbal goes on to ask Jackson her opinion about this year’s upcoming election in America. Jackson and the interviewer are both based in London. Iqbal writes —
I wonder where she stands on the forthcoming election. After all, I say, America could be on the verge of voting in its first black female president, Kamala Harris.
“Well, you know what they supposedly said?” she asks me. “She’s not black. That’s what I heard. That she’s Indian.”
She looks at me expectantly, perhaps assuming that I have Indian heritage.
“Well, she’s both,” I offer.
“Her father’s white. That’s what I was told. I mean, I haven’t watched the news in a few days,” she coughs. “I was told that they discovered her father was white.”
Here goes the author, again. Is she psychic? How does she know Janet Jackson assumed she had Indian heritage? Seriously, did Jackson tell her this?
Here, Jackson is clearly wrong. Even though she doesn’t definitively state that Harris’ father is white, she uses words like “supposedly” and “that’s what I heard” and “that’s what I was told.” Honestly, I don’t know what to make of it, but the internet never sleeps, and they came up with a theory. Janet’s brother, Randy, is now managing her, and it was discovered that he has pictures online with Robert Kennedy Jr. and follows Donald J. Trump on social media. The internet streets are saying that he’s to blame for Janet’s rightwing “talking point.”
I think Janet Jackson never copped to having any rightwing views, so people should hold off on jumping to that conclusion.
Also, if she incorrectly believes that Harris is not a Black woman, then she can easily be shown that her belief is wrong. It’s an easy fix.
The people who are most vocal in questioning the facts of Harris’s identity tend to be hardcore QAnon-adjacent, Trump-loving conspiracy theorists. I don’t think Jackson falls into that camp, but I do wonder what the algorithms are serving her. I start again. Harris has dual heritage, I say, and, given this moment, does Jackson think America is ready for her — if we agree she’s black? Or, OK, a woman of colour?
“I don’t know,” Jackson stage whispers. “Honestly, I don’t want to answer that because I really, truthfully, don’t know. I think either way it goes is going to be mayhem.”
She doesn’t think there will be a peaceful transition of power?
“I think there might be mayhem,” she falters. “Either way it goes, but we’ll have to see.”
Again, it’s the interviewer who brings up QAnon and conspiracy theories. To be fair, Jackson chose to answer the question, and she said what she said, but the author definitely wanted to create a moment. I’m still not sure, however, why she even started this line of questioning.
Furthermore, it’s nothing wrong with Jackson saying that it’s possible there will be mayhem after November 5th whether Harris or Trump wins. In fact, I agree with her.
Jackson clarified her statements today by publishing this statement. Per The Daily Beast —
A spokesperson for Jackson told BuzzFeed her comments were “based on misinformation.”
“She deeply respects Vice President Kamala Harris and her accomplishments as a Black and Indian woman,” the spokesperson added. “Janet apologizes for any confusion caused and acknowledges the importance of accurate representation in public discourse. We appreciate the opportunity to address this and will remain committed to promoting unity.”
Jackson’s rep didn’t explain how that information came to her.
Unfortunately, many were ready to throw Jackson away, and heavily rebuked her for one mistake — not providing her an ounce of grace. I guess that’s the fickleness of celebrity.
Let’s put this conversation to rest.
Ioriginally started this piece to say that we shouldn’t listen to the political views of celebrities simply because we love them. While there will never be any shut up and dribble, or sing, or dance, or act, coming from my way, I understand that celebrities wield influence. They should understand this too. While they have a right to speak on politics like anyone else, they must speak from a place of understanding, like anyone who wants to share their political opinion on a public platform. Me, just a person with a small following, can’t get on here and say whatever I want, unchecked, because there’s a comment section.
But then I read the article and I shifted away from that. I think Jackson probably misspoke and needs time and space to educate herself. Either way, she certainly wasn’t trying to influence anyone. She happened to do an interview, and sensational headlines followed, over a few sentences she spoke to an interviewer who appeared to have a lack of respect for her and her profound legacy.
Then I was moved to speak about how Black women are damned if we do and damned if we don’t. The humility Janet Jackson displayed while being interviewed only led to her authenticity being questioned by the interviewer in her writeup. Whereas last week, it was said that Kamala Harris isn’t humble enough because she’s not a mother.
At the beginning of her writeup, Iqbal wrote, “Jackson has a knack for drifting into grateful platitudes, partly, I think, because she’s determined to appear humble, but partly as a guardrail against any kind of controversy.” Maybe she’s actually humble…
She also judges Jackson’s insecurities and the fact that she’s still hard on herself, at one point writing —
I wonder if she is easier on herself now?
“I could still say not nice things about me to me, but in a joking way. It’s still not good to do, because whatever you say, your brain is hearing it. I look back and think, ‘Oh. I thought I looked like this’, but, actually, I wasn’t too bad?” Is that the best she can say about herself, that she — talented, beautiful, adored — wasn’t too bad? “I wasn’t too bad,” she repeats.
In a parallel universe, one where she didn’t grow up in music’s first family, the youngest of the nine Jackson siblings, or one where her career hadn’t been torpedoed by “nipplegate” 20 years ago, Janet Jackson would be considered one of music’s greatest artists. For fans, her output and influence puts her in conversation with Prince, David Bowie, Beyoncé.
I’m not sure why this particular journalist was picked to interview Janet Jackson but somehow she didn’t realize she was talking to a legend.
We don’t need a parallel universe, and, it’s not that only the opinion of fans that matters. Nothing and no one can take away Janet Jackson’s accomplishments. As Iqbal, herself, went on to name —
Not just for her imperial run — from Control in 1986 to The Velvet Rope in 1997 — but for the record-breaking firsts she stacked up along the way: most top five singles from one album (seven for Rhythm Nation 1814); the most successful debut tour ever (in 1990); and, at the time, signing the most lucrative recording contract in music history ($80m in 1996), surpassing even her brother Michael.
What am I missing?
While Iqbal did not have to fawn over Jackson, I’ve read many celebrity interviews. They tend to bring up public criticism, and hard times in the artist’s life, but Iqbal was determined to dwell on darkness and negativity. Mentioning several times Jackson family dysfunction, and Jackson’s father and most famous brother, Michael, when she really didn’t have to.
Iqbal constantly pushed the narrative that Jackson’s reputation and legacy were irretrievably damaged by Nipplegate. While Jackson, as she admitted herself, suffered greatly, and was blackballed following the Super Bowl incident, time marches on. Events are reexamined. In fact, with closer examination, Jackson in being vindicated. She’s having a resurgence.
She also seemed to be under the false assumption that Jackson isn’t part of the “cultural conversation,” whatever she means when she says that.
What does she make of the idea, well documented by sleuthing podcasts and below-the-line comment culture, that she was culturally blacklisted in the aftermath?
She tilts her head. “Wait,” she says. “The cultural … ?”
Blacklisting?
“Uh-huh.” She coughs and looks uncomfortable.
Was it true? Or have her fans overplayed what happened?
“No,” she raises her brows. “It’s true.” She nods. “It is true.”
Well, I’m here to make it clear, Janet Jackson is getting her flowers right now. While she’s still here. She’s celebrated. She’s loved. She is absolutely a cultural icon — an undeniable part of the current, and not so distant past, musical cultural zeitgeist. She has influenced many artists of today. IYKYK. The 80s, 90s, and early aughts wouldn’t have been the same without her.
And, let’s not ever forget, she will always be a Black American musical icon.
Be for real.
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