Marianne Williamson has denied backing Donald Trump’s claim that Haitian immigrants in Ohio are eating people’s pets, after saying the unverified reports should not be dismissed out of hand and that “voodoo is real”

This week, Trump, JD Vance and other right-wingers have promoted the unfounded conspiracy theory that Haitian immigrants in Springfield, Ohio are eating residents’ cats and dogs[…]
Former Democratic presidential candidate and self-help author Williamson responded to the uproar by writing on X: “Continuing to dump on Trump because of the ‘eating cats’ issue will create blowback on Nov. 5

“Haitian voodoo is in fact real, and to dismiss the story out-of-hand rather than listen to the citizens of Springfield. Ohio confirms in the minds of many voters the stereotype of Democrats as smug elite jerks who think they’re too smart to listen to anyone outside their own silo”

But Williamson, 71, insisted her comments did not mean she was backing Trump’s claims[…]
Linking to a National Geographic article she added: “I said that the practice itself is verifiable (see below), and that automatically dismissing the stories of people in places like small town Ohio are very bad for Democrats and actually helps Trump”

However, officials in Springfield have said there have been “no credible reports” of cats or dogs being harmed

Meanwhile, some academics have previously suggested the historical use of the word “voodoo” had racist undertones[…]
Anti-Haitian racism has a deep-rooted history in the United States, dating back centuries. Americans have long been fed images of Haiti as a “voodoo and backwards, uncivilized Black country,” Mack told The Intercept