Janet Jackson sings about control. But some people in her circle worry she’s handing it over to someone else.
Amid the fallout from her comments about Kamala Harris’ race and her camp’s chaotic attempts to manage the situation, insiders are pointing fingers at her brother and manager, Randy Jackson.
Sources say that the PR disaster proves that Randy is too inexperienced to handle her affairs and has become too loud a voice in her ear.
The furor began on Saturday, after the Guardian newspaper published an interview with the “Control” singer. When the interviewer asked Janet her thoughts on Harris becoming the first black female president should she defeat Donald Trump in November, Janet responded, “She’s not black. That’s what I heard… that she’s Indian.”
And despite Harris making history as America’s first black and South Asian female Vice President in 2020, Janet continued, “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.”
(Harris’ parents are immigrants from Jamaica and India.)
The criticism on social media was swift and devastating, while comedian DL Hughley blasted the interview as sounding like a “Trump rally” and even took a shot at the singer’s plastic surgery. “It’s a little ironic to question whether someone is black while you’re breathing through the nose of a white woman!,” he wrote on X.
We’re told that her inner circle was perplexed by the interview, and fear that the fallout could be more severe than that of “Nipplegate” after her infamous Super Bowl performance 20 years ago — because her comments could tarnish her sterling reputation as a champion of marginalized groups.
The Rock & Roll Hall of Famer has tackled social issues such as homophobia, female empowerment and racism in her work, and her trademark tune calls for the world to unite behind music.
“How can she sing about ‘Rhythm Nation’ and make comments like that?,” said an insider, “It doesn’t even sound like her. She’s so methodical. I don’t know what made her do this.”
The source adds that Jackson, who lives in London, “doesn’t really watch the news anymore. She does live in a bubble,” they added.
We’re told Janet learned of the outrage while partying with her crew, including designer Christian Siriano, in Paris.
“Janet and Randy’s attitude was to just let it blow over. They weren’t planning to address it,” another source told us.
Meanwhile, a man named Mo Elmasri, claiming to be her manager, issued an apology on her behalf to Buzzfeed — only for her publicist to walk it back in Variety, and declare Elmasri doesn’t work for Janet. They further said the Jackson siblings would not be commenting on the interview as they are mourning their older brother, Tito, who passed away last week.
Things got even more confusing after People magazine published another apology, which it updated after the rep told them he does not represent Janet in any capacity, according to the article. Elmasri later alleged Janet and Randy fired him “after attempts to improve her image in front of public opinion and her fans, and this is something I do not deserve.”
This isn’t the first time Elmasri has claimed he managed Janet. In August, he announced the singer’s upcoming Las Vegas residency as her manager. Janet’s publicity team later sent out an official announcement, but curiously didn’t address Elmasri speaking on the singer’s behalf then.
But multiple sources insists, “No one [in her camp] knows who he is!”
“It’s completely out of the blue. No one has ever heard of this guy, not any breath of him,” one insider told us.
Another source told us they’ve “never heard of this guy’s name in my life,” and believes, “Randy brought him on.”
“[Randy’s] sabotaging her legacy because he’s not saavy. She’s giving Randy control, and no one understands how he’s managing her, when he’s never had a career. She pays for everything,” they claimed.
They further told us Janet listens to Randy, who is a “Trump supporter and conspiracy theorist.”
“Janet’s bubble is small, and she listens to Randy. She does peddle in conspiracy theories,” they added.
Janet spoke about Randy as her manager in the interview and explained he’s the reason she hasn’t released new music. She announced her “Black Diamond” album and tour before the COVID lock-downs began in 2020, but never released the record.
When asked about the tossed album, Janet told the Guardian, “I feel so badly about that… I have recorded a lot of music. A lot of music that’s just sitting on the shelf. I went to my brother [Randy]… and I think, I think he’s just waiting for the opportune time.”
Sources, however, told us Janet doesn’t have enough material for a new album and hasn’t recorded in the studio since before the pandemic. “I don’t know why she keeps promising new music because there is none, at least not enough for a full album,” a third source claimed.
In the meantime, Janet is closing out the second leg of her “Together Again” tour in London and preparing to return to Las Vegas for a new residency at the end of the year.
Jackson’s rep did not comment.
