Janet Jackson has increased the intrigue surrounding the highly-anticipated upcoming documentary about her life by expelling some home truths about her famous brother Michael.
The doc, simply titled Janet, arrives this week on Friday, January 28th on A&E and Lifetime. Featuring never-before-seen footage from her life and career, it doesn’t sound like it’s going to shirk away from serious matters.
In a new interview with the New York Post, Janet remembered some tough times she experienced while growing up with Michael. “There were times when Mike used to tease me and call me names,” she said, revealing that the Thriller singer would use terms like “pig, horse, slut, hog or cow” to make light of her weight.
“He would laugh about it, and I’d laugh too,” Janet added. “But then there was somewhere down inside that it would hurt. I’m an emotional eater, so when I get stressed, or something is really bothering me, it comforts me.”
Body image issues would go on to plague Janet for the rest of her life. Michael’s highly-publicised controversies also had an effect on her career.
“It was frustrating for me,” Janet recalled. “We have our own separate lives, and even though he’s my brother, that has nothing to do with me. But I wanted to be there for him, to support him as much as I possibly could.”
It became a case, then, of “guilty by association” for the singer. It was the 1982 premiere of Thriller that became the turning point of her relationship with her brother. “That’s when it all started to change,” she said. “I remember really loving the Thriller album. But for the first time in my life, I felt it was different between us — a shift was happening.”
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Watch the Janet trailer:
