Politics
Janet Jackson should know better than to boost MAGA lies
Music legend Janet Jackson is rightly receiving backlash for mischaracterizing Vice President Kamala Harris’ race in an interview with The Guardian, when she was asked about her feelings about the possibility of a Black woman being elected U.S. president.
We like to think that celebrities, especially beloved ones like Jackson, are savvy enough to tell truth from fiction.
“She’s not Black,” the 58-year-old five-time Grammy Award winner said. “That’s what I heard. That she’s Indian.” Guardian reporter Nosheen Iqbal described herself as “floored” when Jackson then claimed that Harris’ father, who’s Blackis white. But maybe Iqbal shouldn’t have been shocked. We like to think that celebrities, especially beloved, or even idolized, ones like Jackson, are savvy enough to tell truth from fiction.
It wasn’t so much that Jackson was misinformed, but that she echoed MAGA-fueled lies. Her statement about what she heard sounded eerily similar to former President Donald Trump’s lie at the National Association of Black Journalists convention in July that the biracial Harris — who says she was raised as a Black womanattended the historically Black Howard University and pledged Alpha Kappa Alphathe nation’s oldest Black sorority — “happened to turn Black” out of political expediency. And that only recently.
Jackson seemed disturbingly unaware that she was spouting misinformation. It’s a moment that should cause us to rethink what it means to have celebrities expressing their political views and making political endorsements when, as a rule, those celebrities live radically different lives than the rest of us.
Jackson, the youngest child in a family of entertainers, cemented her public image as a champion for social justice when she lamented George Floyd’s murder in 2020 and vocally supported Black Lives Matter. She has repeatedly used her social media platforms and live performances to speak out against sexism, racism, homophobia and other forms of discrimination, including xenophobic attacks on immigrants. Even though her advocacy is mostly tied to heartfelt pleas during award acceptance speeches and concerts, the soft spoken icon has not left any doubt about what outrages and concerns her. And none of it seems aligned with the far political right.
At this point, it’s difficult to view any questioning of Harris’ race as anything other than an unwarranted personal attack, and it’s disappointing that Jackson, who was herself mistreated, isn’t making that connection.
After the infamous “wardrobe malfunction” during halftime at the 2004 Super Bowl — Justin Timberlake tore away part of her clothing and exposed her breast — she had her songs pulled from the radio and was dis-invited from that year’s Grammy Awards. Timberlake suffered no consequences and in 2018 was given a solo Super Bowl halftime show.
Even as Jackson’s career stalled, for the most part, Jackson’s Black fans stood by her, correctly seeing her as the victim of a double standard. Perhaps, that is why her reluctance to support the Black candidate running against Trump — whose racist language and racist policies are well known — is so baffling. In addition to questioning Harris’ background, she warned that there would be social mayhem regardless of who was elected without stating any preferences. (Here, it’s probably important to mention that Janet Jackson was raised by a mother, Katherine Jackson, who is a devout Jehovah’s Witness, and Witnesses don’t participate in politics. In the past, Janet Jackson has said her religious upbringing was very important to her but that she didn’t identify as a Witness.)
But politics aside, Janet Jackson’s comments discounting Harris’ race shine a light on how isolated celebrities are from the rest of us. There is no reason to disbelieve Jackson’s earlier social advocacy but it does lead one to wonder how deeply those commitments are felt when the same person can unwittingly play into what Harris aptly called the “same old, tired playbook” about Black people in leadership positions. It’s unnerving when Black people appear to flip through the same book for information about each other. While there are some Black Trump supporters, given her past social positions, it’s hard to imagine Jackson among them.
As we know very well from her late brother Michael, being a celebrity can be deeply isolating. It’s not unlike social alienation in the way that it can leave celebrities disconnected and distrustful.
Instead, she seems to have fallen down those internet rabbit holes that make wild conspiracies sound plausible. Indeed, Jackson said during the Guardian interview that she was told the information she shared about Harris, and that “they had discovered” Harris’ father was white. As we know very well from her late brother Michael, being a celebrity can be deeply isolating. It’s not unlike social alienation in the way that it can leave celebrities disconnected and worrisomely distrustful of social institutions like government and media.
Celebrities like Jackson are among the uber wealthy whose lives bear no resemblance to ours; yet we crave to know what they think about political causes and social issues, assuming, sometimes, that they can change hearts and minds in a way that we cannot. Such endorsements can have a rallying effect on supporters even as the longer term impact is unclear.
When Taylor Swift endorsed Harris immediately after her Sept. 10 debate against Trump, many breathed a sigh of relief. Swift has a massive fanbase, especially among white women whom Democrats are hoping turn out in huge numbers in November. Swift’s well-timed endorsement, which was viewed as especially thoughtful and influential, was liked by millions within minutes, prompting Trump to post “I HATE TAYLOR SWIFT!” on Truth Social. From Susan Sarandon to Harry Belafonte, entertainers have long used their celebrity status to speak out for the causes they believe in, sometimes jeopardizing their careers along the way.
But Jackson didn’t speak out as much as she fumbled her way through a bizarre reply to a simple question. If we’re to take anything away from that fumbling, it’s a reminder that while celebrities seem larger than life, like us, they are susceptible to misinformation, maybe even more so.
Robyn Autry
Robyn Autry is a sociology professor and director of the Center for the Study of Public Life at Wesleyan University. She is the author of “Desegregating the Past: The Public Life of Memory in the U.S. and South Africa.”
‘We are winning elections’: Bernie Sanders on Democrats’ progressive wing
lead image
Politics
Trump wants the Postal Service to radically overhaul mail voting. But ballots are already going out.
President Donald Trump’s controversial demands for the Postal Service to overhaul and monitor millions of mail ballots hit another snag on Friday, when North Carolina became the first state in the nation to start sending out ballots for the November election.
In March, Trump signed the initial executive order, which aimed to crack down on mail-in voting — which he regularly alleges without evidence is a vector for widespread voter fraud — and assert an unprecedented amount of federal control over the upcoming elections.
Under this order and the subsequent rule drafted by the U.S. Postal Service, the USPS would refuse to deliver ballots to states that failed to provide lists of eligible mail voters or did not adhere to an approved envelope design style.
Since then, the order has faced legal challenges, and it remains paused by a federal judge’s orders. But the Trump administration has asked the Supreme Court to allow the new rule to proceed — something current and former election officials from both parties say would be both a legal nightmare that oversteps the federal government’s traditional role in elections and a logistical one that is happening far too close to the November election to implement even if they agreed with it.
“Why the hell are you rocking the boat this late in the game?” said Stephen Richer, a former Republican recorder of Maricopa County, Arizona, who has clashed with Trump allies for defending the security of the 2020 election.
Still, election officials are trying to project a sense of normalcy for voters, particularly in North Carolina, which serves as a test of whether established local election systems can operate normally amid intensifying federal scrutiny.
“I want to emphasize this point because there has been a lot of outside noise: Our county workers are ready,” Sam Hayes, a longtime Republican lawyer in the state and now executive director of the North Carolina State Board of Elections, said in a Thursday afternoon press conference.
He added, “All we can do is what we’re doing. … It is business as usual as far as I’m concerned.”
Despite the legal challenges, the Trump administration has continued to press the courts to let it proceed. The Trump administration asked the Supreme Court on Thursday to lift an order from a Massachusetts judge which temporarily prevents the USPS from enforcing their rule. It is the second time the Trump administration has asked the Supreme Court to step in, after winning an earlier victory in which the high court dismissed an earlier hold on the rule as premature.
“The uncertainty is coming from a single activist judge who continues to try and obstruct President Trump from implementing commonsense measures to protect the security of mail-in ballots and ensure only Americans vote in American elections,” White House spokesperson Lauren Bis said in a statement. “These safeguards for mail ballots were proposed months ago giving election officials ample time to prepare for the 2026 election.”
The USPS did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Election officials said that if the rule goes into effect this close to November, it would cause chaos and place added strain on the USPS and election officials. And an anonymous federal whistleblower said in a report circulated earlier this week by Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) that the USPS was moving forward in a “secretive, rushed, chaotic, and fundamentally flawed process” to try to implement the new system ahead of the midterms.
In the coming weeks, states across the country will follow North Carolina’s lead. Nine other states will begin mailing ballots in the next two weeks, according to a tracker from the National Conference of State Legislatures — with the biggest day for mailing coming 45 days before the election in mid-September.
“It would be so outrageous to try to let this go into effect. It’s hard to even imagine,” said Ben Hovland, a senior fellow for democracy at the progressive think tank Center for American Progress and former Democratic commissioner with the Election Assistance Commission who was fired by Trump in July.
He added, “It would be a break-glass moment for our democracy.”
The rule would require meticulous changes to ballot handling and tracking practices that Hovland said are impossible to implement before Election Day in about two months, effectively disenfranchising millions of voters.
“Ballots are printed. Envelopes are printed. You can go on and on with all the practical reasons that show that implementing something like this at this time is not feasible,” he said.
Richer said he doubted the new rules would bring about more security. Even if the USPS received lists from the states, according to the postal service’s final rule, it would not do any additional vetting of the list, Richer said.
“It’s just that the mail ballots have to be on that list, and I don’t see what added value for election integrity that does,” he said.
He added, “It creates a lot of administrative burden, and I think it creates a lot more opportunity for error.”
While a decision looms in the courts, election officials and experts cast doubt on the likelihood of the rules going into effect before November. A more pressing issue, they said, is the confusion and uncertainty surrounding mail-in ballots, which could subvert and change the behaviors of voters.
“It makes things seem messy or difficult, and it can dissuade people from participating or coming out to vote,” Hovland said. “It certainly also helps establish a pretext to make bad faith claims about election results.”
Hovland said that while none of these claims of voter fraud are backed up with facts, they could cause Americans to lose faith in the voting process.
Still, some current officials contended they were well-prepared for whatever happens — and that they’d be able to communicate effectively with voters who have become increasingly buffeted by dramatic rhetoric about the once-unmentioned nuts and bolts of actually running an election.
“There’s always a lot of noise around elections, that’s not going to change, and it can be hard to differentiate that from what’s actually going on on the ground,” said Jason Tyson, director of external affairs for the North Carolina State Board of Elections.
As Election Day approaches, Tyson and election officials said they urge voters to check their registration status and make a plan to vote.
He added, “I think we’ve got a really well-trained, solid staff who are ready, and who have gone through all of the checks and balances and points of contact that we need to do to get to where we are.”
Missouri’s Supreme Court suspended a congressional map that state Republicans drew last year that would have netted the GOP an additional House seat, likely keeping the seat in Democratic hands this November.
The court ruled unanimously on Thursday that a referendum petition organized by Democrats to put the new congressional maps to a vote was incorrectly deemed insufficient by Republican Secretary of State Denny Hoskins, and ordered that the gerrymandered map be put to a vote in the fall.
Voters will ultimately decide the fate of the new lines in November. But in the meantime, it cannot be in place for the midterms, meaning Rep. Emanuel Cleaver’s original Kansas City-based district will likely stay in Democrats’ hands this fall.
- Sen. Kennedy rails against AI developers as ‘high IQ stupid people’
- ‘We are winning elections’: Bernie Sanders on Democrats’ progressive wing
- The Norwegian gas plant that could safeguard Europe from Trump
- NATO races to guard against Russian nuclear subs without the US
- Confirmation of measles death gives Pennsylvania governor another chance to call out RFK Jr.
- How Talarico is countering Trump’s midterms convention
- ‘I don’t think anyone is really comfortable’: Democrat leading on AI raises alarms at Trump, Zuckerberg call
- Trump wants the Postal Service to radically overhaul mail voting. But ballots are already going out.
- House Dem election leader’s message to states: Count faster
- Capitol agenda: What Johnson’s early exit could leave behind
-
Politics2 years agoFormer ‘Squad’ members launching ‘Bowman and Bush’ YouTube show
-
Uncategorized2 years ago
Bob Good to step down as Freedom Caucus chair this week
-
Politics2 years agoFormer Kentucky AG Daniel Cameron launches Senate bid
-
The Dictatorship2 years agoLuigi Mangione acknowledges public support in first official statement since arrest
-
The Josh Fourrier Show2 years agoDOOMSDAY: Trump won, now what?
-
The Dictatorship2 years agoPete Hegseth’s tenure at the Pentagon goes from bad to worse
-
Politics2 years agoBlue Light News’s Editorial Director Ryan Hutchins speaks at Blue Light News’s 2025 Governors Summit
-
The Dictatorship12 months agoMike Johnson sums up the GOP’s arrogant position on military occupation with two words