Kin-spiracy theory debunked: Kamala Harris is not related to ‘Empire’ actor Jussie Smollett

In 2021, former "Empire" actor Jussie Smollett was convicted of staging a racist and homophobic hate crime against himself. Now, social media posts have falsely claimed  that Smollett is related to Vice President Kamala Harris.

In a clip posted on Instagram from conservative commentator Candace Owens’ podcast, Judge Joe Brown, former star of a reality television courtroom show, says:

"You also have Kamala … who are her relatives? You know, one of her relatives by marriage, his name is Jessie Smollett, the one that caught up with that fraud thing — he’s her nephew by marriage."

Text above the video reads, "Judge Joe Brown Says Actor Jussie Smollett Is Kamala Harris Nephew."

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Brown does not specify how Smollett is related to Harris, other than by saying "he’s her nephew by marriage." Neither of Smollett’s parents are Harris’ siblings nor Harris’ husband’s siblings.

Harris has one sister, Maya Harris, who has a daughter named Meena Harris.

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stated on October 27, 2024 in a Threads post

U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene said on X, “New York and California are absolutely flipping red.”

Kamala Harris, the Democratic nominee for president, is married to Doug Emhoff, who has two siblings, Jamie Emhoff and Andy Emhoff. Maya Harris’ husband is Tony West, who has two sisters named Pamela and Patricia.

Smollett’s parents are Joel Smollett and Janet Smollett. Janet Smollett’s maiden name is Harris, which has led some to believe that she is Kamala Harris’ sister. But the fact the two women share a surname is not proof they are sisters. "Harris" is the 25th most common last name in the U.S., according to data from the 2010 Census.

Harris’ parents are Indian and Jamaican;  Smollett’s ancestry is African American and Russian-Polish.

Harris tweeted about Smollett twice in 2019, once calling his purported attack a "modern day lynching," and a second time saying she was "sad, frustrated and disappointed" about his "false claims to police." She mentions that she knows Smollett in her first tweet about the incident, but not that they are related.

Smollett and Harris were photographed together in 2018 at a Martin Luther King Jr. parade in Los Angeles, the Daily Mail reported.

Brown has repeatedly made disparaging comments about Harris before, saying she’s not Black and calling her derogatory, misogynistic names. PolitiFact has previously debunked claims that the vice president is not Black.

We rate the claim that Smollett is Harris’ nephew False.