Janet Jackson, mother of a hidden big girl? She finally breaks the silence

At 55, Janet Jackson regains control of her story in a documentary, Janet, broadcast in the United States from January 28. Usually secretive regarding her private life, Michael Jackson’s little sister responds to the craziest rumors. To that of the pretending mother of a “secret child” since the mid-80s, in particular…

The birth of the truth will have taken more than 30 years. Janet Jackson, mother of a young woman from her rocky first marriage to singer James DeBarge : the rumor snaked in the American showbiz, since the middle of the Eighties. The little sister of Michael Jackson, officially mom ofone child, Eissa, whom she gave birth to 5 years ago, at the age of 50, has finally denied this fabrication, maintained by DeBarge himself, in 2016.

Former cocaine addict, running following a comeback, the first “Mr. Janet Jackson”, married in 1984, lacked credibility. In Janet, confessional documentary broadcast on the Lifetime channel on January 28, the singer cuts it short, once and for all. The magazine People to quote: “It was said that I had given birth to a child in the greatest secrecy. But I would never do it behind James’s back. How might I keep a child away from his father? It’s unimaginable, it’s not something right.”

At the origin of the rumour: a weight gain that she explains

Janet Jackson, now single following having divorced with a bang from the wealthy Qatari businessman Wissam Al Mana, father of her son Eissa, is well aware of the eccentric theories that have been circulating. His “secret child” would have been brought up sometimes by his older sister Rebbie, sometimes by his big brother Jackie; because they look like her, her nieces Brandy and Stevanna would be, at your choice, this girl brought into the world at the start of her career as a singer… She denies it. And thinks he knows the origin of the rumor, at least she dates it to her participation in the series Fame : “Many of my fans thought I was pregnant because I had gained weight as a side effect of my birth control pill. At the time, a badly dosed pill might make you fat and that’s what happened to me.”

© Backgrid UK/ BestimageJanet Jackson in the documentary “Janet”, broadcast in two parts on the American channel Lifetime from January 28, 2022.

“Sentimental level, I have often been attracted to men who had drug problems”

A child with James DeBarge was not the singer’s wish, at the time of their marriage. When Janet marries the singer, she is 18 years old, she seeks above all to emancipate herself from the formidable patriarch Joe Jackson, who wants to manage her career, following having launched her brothers. In the documentary Janet, Michael’s little sister is saving her first husband, “a nice boy” despite his drug addiction. Their marriage, dissolved following a year, was doomed, however. “After our wedding, we went back to the hotel, recalls Janet Jackson. He told me he had to go away for a few seconds. I waited for him for more than three hours, alone, with the naivety of my 18 years, in our room. I believe that subconsciously, I seek out the difficult cases, I want to help them. On a sentimental level, I have often been attracted to men who had drug problems.”

The singer still recounts their battles to retrieve pills that have fallen on the floor, her rush to flush them down the toilet. “This is not a life”, she summarizes, admitting that she was struggling in vain once morest the demons of James DeBarge. “I was incredibly innocent. That’s the word: innocent. And it is a great pain when you realize that people are trying to take advantage of you. It still hurts me”, she concludes.

Photo credits: Chris Delmas / Bestimage