Janet Jackson is finally addressing the rumors that she gave birth to a secret child with her ex-husband James DeBarge.
It’s long been rumored that Jackson, 55, had a secret baby with her ex and that it was raised by her sister Rebbie or her brother Jackie. In the second part of her documentary Janet, the singer, puts an end to the falsehood.
“Back in the day, they were saying that I had a child, and I kept it secret,” Jackson said. “I could never keep a child away from James. How could I keep a child from their father? I could never do that. That’s not right.”
The “If” singer, who married DeBarge in 1984, believes the myth started while she was filming the show Fame. She believes that weight gain due to taking birth control pills is where it began.
“A lot of the kids thought I was pregnant, ’cause I had gained weight, and I had started taking birth control pills,” Jackson said. “And back then, you could pick up weight taking them, and that’s what happened to me. So that rumor started going around.”
The rumors didn’t stop there. Eventually, people started to speculate her niece Brandi was actually her secret child. And then it was suspected that Randy’s daughter, Stevanna, might be hers because they looked so much alike.
Jackson and DeBarge’s marriage was short-lived, which she blamed on his drug use. It was annulled in 1985.
“I was just incredibly innocent,” Jackson said of their marriage. “That’s the thing, is the innocence. And it’s just hurtful for someone to see that and just try to take advantage of it… It’s still painful.”
The singer did give birth in 2017 to a son named Eissa, whom she shares with ex Wissam Al Mana.
Janet airs this Friday and Saturday at 8 p.m. ET on both Lifetime and A&E.
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