It’s safe to say the music world had never seen anything quite like it before: A person claiming to be a superstar artist’s manager, making a widely reported, controversial statement on that artist’s behalf — who turned out to have “no connection” to that artist.
That was the scene on Sunday, as a strangely worded purported “apology” from Janet Jackson regarding her inaccurate comments to the Guardian about Vice President Kamala Harris’ racial background was picked up by multiple news outlets, before Jackson’s rep told Variety the statement was unauthorized and that the “manager,” Mo Elmasri, had no business connection with her.
The unauthorized statement, made in reference to Jackson’s comments that she’d been “told” Harris is not Black, certainly sounded like something an artist in that position would say:
“Janet Jackson would like to clarify her recent comments. She recognizes that her statements regarding Vice President Kamala Harris’ racial identity were based on misinformation. Janet respects Harris’ dual heritage as both Black and Indian and apologizes for any confusion caused. She values the diversity Harris represents and understands the importance of celebrating that in today’s society. Janet remains committed to promoting unity and understanding.
“Thank you, Mo Elmasri. Manager, Janet Jackson”
The statement was reported first by Buzzfeed on Sunday morning, and then by multiple other outlets, launching a long, convoluted and often seemingly futile quest for clarity.
The first red flag, apart from the strange second-hand nature of the comment, was the fact that Jackson has been managed by her brother Randy for many years, and Elmasri was an unfamiliar name with a vague internet footprint — just ESL-flavored entries on LinkedIn, IMDB and Influence Intelligence that stated he is an Egyptian filmmaker and “creative consultant” to Jackson, Britney Spears, Beyonce and Selena Gomez. Elmasri’s socials seemed to provide at least some credibility: His Instagram account has nearly 12,000 followers but is private; his LinkedIn profile lists 750+ connections. Complicating matters further is the fact that Mohamed El-Masri is a relatively common name. (Buzzfeed declined Variety‘s requests for comment, but it seems likely his contact information was found in one of these sources.)
After a pause that suggested confusion, a rep for Jackson told Variety on Sunday that not only is Elmasri not Jackson’s manager, several members of her team didn’t know who he was.
Variety contacted Elmasri on Sunday afternoon via the Gmail address on his IMDB page (calls to the phone number listed have gone unanswered and do not lead to voicemail), noting that Jackson’s reps had not confirmed the authenticity of the statement he’d given on the singer’s behalf.
“Hope you have a great day thank you for reaching out,” his reply read. “I no longer work for her. I was fired by Janet and Randy, after attempts to improve her image in front of public opinion and her fans, and this is something I do not deserve. All my support to Kamla [sic] Harris. Greetings. Mo Elmasri.”
Jackson’s camp maintained that it has no connection with Elmasri — Janet even refers to Randy as her manager in the Guardian article — and stated that the siblings were unavailable for comment, as they were mourning their older brother Tito, who’d died a week before. Reps for Beyonce, Gomez and Spears said they were not familiar with him, or did not immediately respond to Variety’s inquiries.
Variety posted an article with the headline “Janet Jackson’s ‘Apology’ for Ill-Informed Comments About Kamala Harris Was Not Authorized” late Sunday afternoon, correcting the outlets that had accepted Elmasri’s statement at face value. But to be fair, why would someone with access to so many news outlets lie about being a major artist’s manager?
Why indeed? And who is this guy?
Later Sunday, Variety emailed Elmasri, telling him that reps for the artists said they had no connection with him.
He replied immediately: “I don’t understand why they say that. I have already worked with these stars, but who are you talking to? We have worked on projects before Through their representatives. Don’t believe any nonsense please.”
Pressed for details, he replied just as quickly, initially quoting his bio but quickly turning darker:
“Sure this is Mo Elmasri I’m Egyptian Filmmaker and Creative Consultant most of my previous works is in Middle East. Of course, I maintain the confidentiality of my clients’ projects and u realize the importance of this matter.
“What is happening to me now is nothing more than a war waged by Janet and her allies against me. I hope you understand that. Thank you.”
On Monday, the New York Post dug deeper into the story with sources reportedly connected with Jackson’s camp; one unnamed voice speculated without evidence that they believed “Randy brought him on.” However, a source who has worked for years with the Jackson camp tells Variety it would be very unlikely for such an appointment to take place without the larger team at least being aware.
Elmasri had previously claimed to be Jackson’s manager last August in a statement to the U.K. tabloid the Daily Mail announcing the singer’s upcoming Las Vegas residency with a similar second-hand quote; a source tells Variety that Jackson’s team chose to ignore it.
Over the past few days, Variety has exchanged emails with Elmasri that have not definitively cleared up the situation. Asked again for details, he replied on Tuesday:
“I started working with her since the beginning of their last tour ‘Together Again.’ I’m Egyptian filmmaker graduated from New York Film Academy, and Founder of Consulting firm called 24 East and special advisor to many public figures and businessmen in the Middle East and U.S, one of my clients is a friend of Janet, asked me to help her recreate her image on the scene after her long absence.
“Janet gave me power of attorney to deal with the media, and my goal was to save her image before public opinion after the violent attack on her by the public, who described her as racist and revealing false information.
“If you want to continue with more questions, feel free to do so. Thank you. Mo Elmasri.”
A request for further details has not been answered, nor is there further clarity about Elmasri’s professional identity. His LinkedIn profile states that he is an “entertainer / entrepreneur/ filmmaker” based in Cairo and is the founder and chairman of a company called 24 East and is “Creative consultant for some of world megastars” and “Beyonce’s special advisor.” Previous listed roles include co-founder, chairman and CEO of Mogate Media and an internship with director David Leitch at Lionsgate in 2017-18. His IMDB profile had stated that he was a “trainee assistant director (uncredited)” on “John Wick 3” and a similar role on a “Fast N’ Furious” film. A rep for Leitch did not immediately respond to Variety’s request for comment.
Earlier this week Elmasri’s IMDB profile was deleted, his Instagram account (which remains private) appears to have been wiped, and mutual connections on LinkedIn say they don’t know him personally and simply accepted an invitation to link. A handful of contacts with connections in the Egyptian entertainment industry did not express familiarity with him.
So who is Mo Elmasri? It seems fair to speculate that he’s a filmmaker with some connections to the entertainment industry, although perhaps not at the level he claims, and enough savvy to know how to get a statement into the media. Whether this marks the beginning of a career of disruption, the tail end of 15 minutes of fame, or a new peak in gaslighting remains to be seen.
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