Janet Jackson is sharing some childhood recollections in her upcoming documentary. In JANET, her four-part autobiographical docuseries, the singer and actress discussed various aspects of her life, including her relationship with her late brother, Michael Jackson.
“There were times when Mike used to tease me and call me names… ‘Pig, horse, slaughter hog, cow,'” she recalled. As someone who struggled with weight fluctuations and weight gain as a child, she admitted that the jokes had a slight effect on her emotional health. “He would laugh about it and I’d laugh too, but then there was somewhere down inside that it would hurt,” the singer continued. “When you have somebody say you’re too heavy, it affects you.”
As the two got older, they continued to grow apart. Janet said she noticed “a shift was happening” after the release of MJ’s 1982 album, Thriller. “That’s the time Mike and I started going our separate ways. He just wasn’t as fun as he used to be,” she explained. Their weakened bond was further confirmed when they collaborated on the 1995 song “Scream.”
“Michael shot nights, I shot days,” Janet says in the documentary. “His record company would block off his set so I couldn’t see what was going on. They didn’t want me on set. That really hurt me because I felt I was there fighting the fight with him, not to battle him. I wanted it to feel like old times between he and I, and it didn’t. Old times had long passed.”
The Rhythm Nation star also opened up about the conflict she faced when the King of Pop was hit with sexual allegations.
“It was frustrating for me. We have our own separate lives and even though he’s my brother, that has nothing to do with me,” she said. “But I wanted to be there for him, to support him as much as I possibly could.”
The first episode of JANET will premiere on Jan. 31 on Lifetime. See the trailer below.