Vice President Kamala Harris addressed rumors that she prosecuted the late singer Michael Jackson during an interview Tuesday.
Harris’ interview with Charlamagne Tha God comes as part of an effort to shore up her support among Black men heading into Election Day.
“There’s a rumor that Janet Jackson is mad at you because you prosecuted her brother, the late, great Michael Jackson,” Charlamagne Tha God, the cohost of The Breakfast Club radio show, asked Harris. “That’s on the internet. Clear that up for people.”
“That’s just not true,” Harris, the Democratic presidential nominee, said.
“I know,” Charlamagne Tha God said.
Harris tacked on, “On either count,” before the two started laughing.
Charlamagne Tha God then asked Harris to clarify if Janet Jackson was upset with her.
“Well, I mean, I don’t know. I don’t know,” Harris said. “I have not talked to her. But certainly, it’s not true about her brother.”
Aaron J. Thornton/Getty Images for iHeartMedia
Michael Jackson was charged in 2003 with child molestation, administering an intoxicating agent. He was indicted in Santa Barbara. That same year, Harris was elected San Francisco district attorney, and she served in that capacity from 2004 to 2011. She had no direct involvement in the case against Jackson.
Janet Jackson made headlines last month when she falsely claimed that Harris’ father is white.
“Well, you know what they supposedly said? She’s not Black,” Jackson said in a wide-ranging interview with The Guardian. “That’s what I heard. That she’s Indian.”
When the interviewer told Jackson that Harris’ mother is Indian and her father is Black —Jackson responded, “Her father’s 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.”
Mo Elmasri, who said he was Jackson’s manager, put out a statement after the interview was published, saying that her comments were “based on misinformation.”
But Jackson’s representatives told Variety that Elmasri was not her manager and was unauthorized to speak on her behalf. Elmasri also told the outlet in an email, “I no longer work for Janet,” adding that he was fired “after attempts to improve her image in front of public opinion and her fans, and this is something I do not deserve.”
A representative for Jackson did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The Harris campaign also unveiled what it called an “Opportunity Agenda” for Black men ahead of the interview, and Harris highlighted economic policies that she said her administration would implement to address systemic racial inequality.
The Democratic nominee has dominated the media circuit in recent weeks, following criticism that she avoided the media early on in her campaign. In addition to appearing on primetime cable news, she has done interviews with shows that are outside the mainstream, like “The Breakfast Club” and Howard Stern’s radio show, in an effort to reach more voters.
Several media outlets also reported this week that Harris’ campaign is in talks to appear on the popular podcast, The Joe Rogan Experience, whose audience is primarily men.
