Interview Highlights - Janet Jackson

When I interviewed Janet Jackson in 1995, I was told, "as she's American", my best method of getting her to talk about her brother Michael would be to flatter her. So I started my first question with the words, "before me today sits a beautiful woman...". She is beautiful, but the truth is I said it to get what I wanted. It worked. She blushed. Then she answered all my questions about Michael. ??

Janet's life was predestined for stardom. In her autobiography, 'True You', written along with David Ritz, Janet reveals her struggles with food and body image. She mentions the initial trigger - the audition for the American sitcom 'Good Times'. She was just ten and was told that she had the part, but she needed to slim down and that her body was wrong. This led her to believe that food was her enemy. She refused to go naked into the showers at school after sport. She had, in her words, a big butt. And big in her mind was not a compliment. After recording the show she would retreat to her hotel room, order room service and gorge.

Her brother, Michael, had been a phenomenal success from a very young age and, pushed by his father, did not have the opportunity of a normal childhood. Janet was also pushed by Joseph. And before she could say if she was interested in a singing career, her father “closed down the discussion”. The beginnings of change for Janet happened when she moved out of her parent's home. Her album Control was about that very issue, taking control of her own life. Although she would suffer from self-esteem issues later on in life, at the time of that interview, she had lost weight and changed her image. And a compliment about the most sensitive subject in her life broke down her barriers and enabled her to open up. ??

She was as unguarded and open on that day, more than I had ever seen her. When the interview was over, her American management complimented me. They asked for copies of the tape and told me that this was the best interview they had ever seen with Janet. It was a light bulb moment for me. I am just as malleable as she had been following my initial compliment. I too blushed.