Janet Jackson’s First Interview Since Michael Jackson’s Death
10 Sep
Janet Jackson has kept quiet and out of the media since her brother Michael passed away, but finally she spoke up in the interview for the October 2009 issue of Harper’s Bazaar. She began: “People can have rhinoceros skin, but there’s a point when something’s going to hurt you. Not everyone is stone, stone. I haven’t watched the news in weeks. I had to ask my chef, How’s Obama doing? I haven’t read a newspaper. On top of that, [we've lost] a family member.” Interview highlights after the jump!
On the last time Janet saw Michael during family celebration (May 14): “We had so much fun that day. We kept calling each other after and saying how great it was.”
On Michael’s daughter, Paris, who stepped up to the microphone and said, “Daddy has been the best father you could ever imagine” : “I was really proud. People said to me that Michael’s daughter speaking really gave them a sense of how he was as a father, in her words. Paris is incredibly smart; they are all so smart. She’s a sweet girl. The kids are doing well. They’re with all their cousins; that family love will keep them going.”
On learning a lot in these past weeks: “I always wanted to have my mother’s [Katherine Jackson] strength, but I didn’t know if it was really there. But a few years back, something happened and I learned that I did. I’m not going to mention it, but we all know what it is. And now, coming off all this, it’s even beyond that. I was just focused on my job at that moment within my family. Now at least I know that I can step up to the plate and not crumble when I’m needed. When it comes to something like this that is so, so serious, so painful, so traumatic, I can handle it.”
On wearing red, black, and white, and mostly pants (her brother, of course, shared a love for the same palette): “I’ve always been a tomboy. I’ve always liked to wear red, black, and white, and mostly pants. My brother is, I mean was… You have to forgive me, because it’s really hard to believe he’s passed. He’d have the same red shirt, the same black pants, the same white T-shirt. Mike was very simple. When I was 14 years old, I would shop for him. [Michael was then 21 and a megastar.] I washed his clothes, cleaned his room. When Mother would go out of town, she’d say, ‘I’m leaving you in charge. Take care of Mike.’ I would head home from school, see what he needed, then go straight to the stores. You know something else? He loved to wear his shoes all the way down. His penny loafers would have huge holes in the bottom.”
On Michael’s single white glove: “That was actually my brother Jackie’s idea at home one day. He just said, ‘You should wear one glove. A white glove.’ And then Mike studded it all. That was it. Uh-huh. No, no one does it like he does, though. Everybody else tried, but it was no good. On stage, if it was shiny, if it had any kind of bling, he loved it. It was that drummer-boy look. Do you remember that black jacket he wore for Motown’s 25th anniversary? That’s our mother’s! He grabbed that from her closet! He loved anything that sparkled.”
