The View host Whoopi Goldberg fiercely defended Janet Jackson during Monday’s episode of the ABC daytime show as she urged critics to give the singer ‘a little grace’ after she claimed that Vice President Kamala Harris isn’t Black.

Jackson, 58, made the shocking assertion in an interview with The Guardian, when she was asked her feelings about the United States potentially having its first female Black President.

Things then got heated on The View panel as Ana Navarro accused the superstar of ‘spreading misinformation,’ while Sunny Hostin said she ‘doesn’t want to give it this much air’ – but Whoopi, 68, was having none of it.

When Ana, 52, sarcastically suggested that Jackson ‘has a phone,’ Whoopi fired back: ‘Hold on, hold on, yeah she’s got a phone – Janet Jackson is not a political animal. She’s a musician, her life is doing this, and she’s mourning her brother,’ referring to the recent death of Tito Jackson.

The Sister Act star continued: ‘Sometimes I’ve said stuff and I was wrong, but people want you to say something right away. But when people are coming at you saying, “hey, you’re dumb, you don’t know…” you know, you don’t want to answer people and it is a pain in the butt, I have to tell you.

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

Jackson said that Harris is not Black when she was asked about the Presidential candidate in a recent interview

 

‘Sometimes people get it wrong, and they’re wrong. They made a mistake, they were wrong, it happens [and] anybody who says it doesn’t happen to every one of us, multiracial or not, we all do it. So, a little grace for the girl, a little grace for the girl, alright?’

However, Ana was quick to point out that Jackson herself has not come out and said she ‘made a mistake’ as she argued: ‘We don’t know what she said, it’s been one thing and another.

‘I think Janet Jackson like every other American, whether you’re a celebrity or not, has a right to endorse, support, or not support whomever they want. She’s got every right to not like Kamala Harris if she doesn’t want to.’

‘But that’s not what she said!’ Whoopi fired back, as Ana continued: ‘No, what she did was spread misinformation and I think it’s very irresponsible when you have a platform the way Janet Jackson does, to use that platform carelessly to spread misinformation based on a racist allegation by Donald Trump, right?

‘It was Donald Trump who tried to say Kamala Harris just turned Black. So, let’s just 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 is a picture for all of you who need… or for Ms. Jackson, if you’re nasty, here’s the damn picture!’

Sara Haines was keen to share her thoughts and referenced the ‘identity issue’ as she said: ‘The fastest-growing group in this country is multiracial individuals, not bi, multiracial individuals so asking people, “what are you?” My biracial friends always struggled that they weren’t white enough or they weren’t Black enough and they were always left in the middle.

‘The middle is where the world is headed and so we need to be more open about people’s identities and what they identify as and have some grace,’ the 46-year-old fumed.

Sunny, 55, then added: ‘Well, I do think you get to identify yourself, and being one of the multiracial people here at the table, I will say this, I would handle this the way Kamala Harris has and that is to give it no air.

Ana Navarro accused Jackson of spreading ‘misinformation’ as she defended Harris

Sunny Hostin (left) said Jackson’s comments were ‘unfortunate’ as her cohost Alyssa Farah Griffin (right) looked on

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

‘I think Kamala is breaking barriers just by being in the room, regardless of whether Janet Jackson thinks she’s Black or white or Indian, the very fact that she is in the room deconstructs – in my view – the alleged societal norms that we’ve seen in the nearly 250 years of this country of what a presidential candidate looks like.

‘And so I think that is what matters most and I also think that when you are biracial or multiracial, you do get to identify yourself in any way in which you choose to identify yourself. Now she has identified herself as a Black woman. She has 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 been reading the news these past few days.” So, I don’t know if it comes from misinformation. I don’t know if it comes from a lack of information, but all I know is that I don’t want to give it this much air.’

When asked about Harris potentially being 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’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.’

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 in a few days’

In response to a whirlwind of criticism and disappointment, a new twist presented itself in the saga when a man, named Mo Elmasri, claiming to Jackson’s manager ‘apologized’ on her behalf, but it turns out this statement was unauthorized.

The statement was first issued to Buzzfeed and read: ‘She deeply respects Vice President Kamala Harris and her accomplishments as a Black and Indian woman.

‘Janet apologizes for any confusion caused and acknowledges the importance of accurate representation in public discourse.’

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