Officially looking behind the curtain. For the first time, Janet Jackson will give fans an inside look at her life and career in A&E and Lifetime’s two-part documentary, Janet.
“It’s just something that needs to be done,” the icon says in the first trailer for the four-hour event when asked why she is finally deciding to show more of her personal and professional life.
In the sneak peek of the special, the musician shares details about her personal life, growing up in the Jackson family and what really happened between her and Justin Timberlake ahead of the 2004 Super Bowl fiasco.
Many may be surprised to hear that the five-time Grammy winner also speaks out about her brother Michael Jackson. When asked by producers whether the controversy affected her career, she responds, “Yeah … guilty by association.”
The singer publicly stood by Michael for years. In 1993, he was accused of sexually abusing 13-year-old Jordan Chandler. The case never went to trial as Chandler’s father, Evan, accepted a $15 million settlement.
“Now if this really went on, do you think a father would accept money?” the “Nasty” singer said of her brother’s accusations in 2016’s Unmasked. “Do you think that would make everything OK? It doesn’t make any sense. If that was my son, I don’t care if he gave me a billion dollars, I want to see you either behind bars or dead for doing that to my son. It’s crazy — the guy was after money — that is all he wanted.”
Years later, the King of Pop headed to trial after being accused of molestation of a minor. He was eventually acquitted on the charges. Four years later, he died at age 50 in 2009.
When the 2019 documentary Leaving Neverland brought up new allegations of sexual abuse of young boys, Janet stayed quiet. “I think there is a fear as well to put more energy to it and more eyeballs to it. That’s why my aunt [Janet] hasn’t said anything because she doesn’t want to make it any bigger,” her nephew Taj said at the time.
Months later, Janet told The Sunday Times that her brother’s legacy will live on.
“I love it when I see kids emulating him, when adults still listen to his music,” she shared months after the HBO documentary’s debut. “It just lets you know the impact that my family has had on the world. I hope I’m not sounding arrogant in any way — I’m just stating what is. It’s really all God’s doing, and I’m just thankful for that.”
Janet has also famously kept her private life to herself. She shares one son, Eissa Al Mana, who she welcomed with estranged husband Wissam Al Mana in 2017. (The duo split three months after their son arrived.)
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