LOS ANGELES, CA – During the second night of her highly anticipated documentary “Janet,” Janet Jackson continues to peel back the layers of her private life as she shares intimate details about some of the more difficult and joyous times of her life.
Parts three and four of the documentary feature Jackson as she navigates the pressures of embracing her inner sensuality, heartbreak, controversy, the joys of motherhood and becoming a cultural icon.
Celebrities including Regina King, Q-Tip, Mariah Carey, Teyana Taylor, Jermaine Dupri, Ciara, Janelle Monae, Tyler Perry and more make appearances throughout the two-hour film as well.
The documentary picks up with Jackson as receives her star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1990, signs a historic multimillion-dollar deal with Virgin Records and stars in the iconic 1993 film “Poetic Justice,” alongside King and the late Tupac Shakur.
“The first time I met Janet, I just saw myself in her,” King said in the documentary. “She was just representing all of us, all of the teenage girls that are just coming into ourselves and becoming a woman.”
Coupled with the sensual themes of her massively successful third album “Janet” and her now infamous 1993 Rolling Stone cover, Jackson’s career and popularity continued to skyrocket.
“I thought that was very bold of me, to be quite honest. To unleash that within my family. With everybody else, it probably was no big issue,” Jackson said of the 1993 magazine cover. “But we’re talking about my family, ‘cause that’s not how we were brought up. I do what I do because it’s something that I feel at the moment. I mean, I was happy.”
Not long after Michael Jackson’s 1993 child sexual abuse allegations surfaced, Janet and her brother teamed up to write what would become their explosive 1995 collaboration “Scream.”
“It was his song and I was there to support him… listening to his verse first and then just having that supportive role, or at least hoping that I was,” Jackson shared in the doc. “I think he needed the support that I was trying to give him with this song.”
“Scream” would go on to become the most expensive music video ever made, costing $7 million dollars.
In the documentary, Jackson continued to work closely with her husband René Elizondo Jr., however, their marriage began to suffer around the same time her 1997 album “The Velvet Rope” was released.
“The whole René situation, it started to get sour,” Jackson said. “He was always constantly on me about the way I looked. ’You have to look like your video. When you go out, you have to look this way. You can’t go to the movie, people are going to see you. You don’t look like yourself.’ And I believed that.”
The pair ended up divorcing in 2000. In 2002, Jackson began dating producer Jermaine Dupri and the two were together for seven years before they ultimately went their separate ways in 2009.
Taking a close look at what was, perhaps the most controversial time in her career, the documentary focused extensively on her 2004 Super Bowl halftime show performance.
During her performance, which also featured a guest appearance from Justin Timberlake, Jackson’s right breast was briefly exposed due to a wardrobe malfunction.
The ensuing controversy surrounding the performance led to Jackson seemingly being blacklisted from Hollywood.
“It pissed me off a lot when people were saying like, she did that to create this hype,” Dupri said. “I’m like, what? The way people tried to play it was disgusting to me because at the end of the day, Janet Jackson doesn’t need to do anything like that for press.”
After a brief stall in her career, Jackson saw a resurgence with her appearances in various TV shows and films, including the highly successful “Why Did I Get Married” franchise.
The documentary also showed Jackson as she reflected on the sudden and tragic death of her brother Michael, who died at the age of 50 in 2009.
“It took a while for me to accept it. It makes you think about life. The last time we saw each other, we were having a surprise party for my parents and my whole family was there and he was sitting next to me,” Jackson recalled. “He was laughing like crazy and he had that deep laugh. And I remember him looking over at me and the last thing we said to each other was ‘I love you’ and that was the last time I saw him, you know.”
In 2017, at the age of 50, Jackson gave birth to her son Eissa, whom she shares with her ex-husband Wissam Al Mana.
“The biggest change in my life is my son, Eissa. He’s my heart, he’s my life,” Jackson said. “I love being a mother. I love my new job.”
With over 100 million records and dozens of accolades to her name, Jackson’s 2019 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame induction further cemented her status as a true legend.
“It has not been an easy journey, it’s been tough,” Jackson said. “But I’m here and I’m happy. I don’t regret not one bit of it. I’m not complaining at all, I’m thankful. I’m really thankful that I’ve had the career that I’ve had. It’s been a beautiful ride and it’s still a wonderful ride.”
