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Janet Jackson has tried to put an end to the rumors that she had a secret baby with her ex-husband James DeBarge, who she was married to between September 1984 to November 1985.
The 55-year-old singer opened up about the rumors that have been doing the rounds since the 80s – and many other things – in the new two-part Lifetime and A&E documentary about her life, rather aptly entitled, Janet.
“I could never keep a child away from James,” the Rhythm Nation singer explained in the documentary.
“How could I keep a child from their father? I could never do that. That’s not right,” she added, referencing how the rumors initially came about because she appeared to have gained weight while starring as high school student Cleo Hewitt on season four of the NBC series, Fame.
However, the singer insisted that the extra pounds were because she recently started taking birth control pills, and weight gain was and still is a common side effect of the contraceptive medication…
“A lot of the kids thought I was pregnant, ’cause I had gained weight and I had started taking birth control pills,” she continued.
“And back then, you could pick up weight taking them, and that’s what happened to me, so that rumor started going around.”
Debbie Allen, who played a lead faculty member on the show, also weighed in on the never-ending rumors that dominated the Fame set…
“These were rumors that were just flying around, honey, like hash in a diner,” the 72-year-old actress recalled.
“Where was the baby? Nobody saw a baby. I mean, she was there with us all day, every day. Where was the baby?”
The media tried to answer the “where was the baby” question by hinting that the alleged baby could have been given to various members of Janet’s family, including her brothers Jackie and Randy…
“First they were saying my niece Brandi was my daughter and that I gave her to my brother Jackie to raise,” Janet continued.
“And then because Randy’s daughter looks so much like me, they started saying it was Stevanna.
“I was just incredibly innocent. It’s just, to me, hurtful for someone to see that and just try to take advantage of it.”
The documentary features everything from interviews with Janet herself, as well as other huge stars from Missy Elliott to Mariah Carey, as well as home videos and unseen footage retrieved from the archives over the years. In other words, it’s not to be missed!
Part one of the two-part Janet documentary premieres on Lifetime and A&E on Friday, January 28 at 8pm ET.