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Janet Jackson Talks To InStyle About Her Insecurities And Finding Her Beauty
Black Women are slaying alllllll the magazine covers lately. Kudos to InStyle for recognizing the icon who is Janet Jackson to cover their October Beauty issue!
ROBBIE FIMMANO/WALTER SCHUPFER MANAGEMENT
Check out some of our favorite excerpts from the article below:
LB: How did you adjust to fame so young?
JJ: From the beginning. It’s so funny — my brothers talk about it to this day. We would play to a crowd of 20,000 people, and the next day we were at home. My parents would make us get up at 7 in the morning. Why? We had to rake the whole yard. Now, we’re talking about 3 acres. Every leaf had to be gone out of that yard. You had to clean all the animal cages and wash all the animals. We had a house-keeper and chefs growing up. And the house-keeper was there to watch us take care of our rooms. Make our beds, vacuum the floor, mop the kitchen. She was there making sure we did what our parents wanted us to do.
LB: So you were never floating off into another universe.
JJ: Never feeling that, or why should I have to do this or that. [Those chores] kept us grounded. Taking the trash out late at night. We did it all [while] singing. We would make up songs. I had to stand on top of a swivel chair in order to do the dishes because I was so short. That’s how young I was. Someone else would be cleaning the counters and kitchen tables. Someone else would be sweeping the floor, and we’d sing a three- or four-part harmony.
So all those Jackson family TV specials really had the real on the family! Do you think that more kids who are privileged would be better people if they were required to do chores?
Hit the flip for more from the interview.
ROBBIE FIMMANO/WALTER SCHUPFER MANAGEMENT
LB: I love the distinction between the funny banalities of domestic life and the legend of the outside world. What lessons from your upbringing would you like to instill in Eissa?
JJ: The foundation of being grounded and also of a higher power. Knowing who he is and that we are all equal no matter the race or gender. And that he is to be respectful towards others but also that others are respectful to him.
LB: Did you and Michael ever talk about self-image?
JJ: I remember growing up and being in this business was always this important thing. Because it was the thing. And you had to be a certain size, you had to be thin to be an entertainer. Stupid crap like that. That’s just this business I’m in. I think it’s changed, thank God. People are more accepting of others. Which is the way it should’ve been from the jump. That can really mess with you.
LB: What were you insecure about before that you are more secure about now?
JJ: I would have to say my body. A lot of it has to do with experience, getting older. Understanding, realizing that there isn’t just one thing that is considered beautiful. Beautiful comes in all shapes, sizes, and colors.
LB: When do you feel most beautiful?
JJ: I feel like I’m being corny here, but it’s just the honest truth: I feel most beautiful when I’m with my son, because of the gift that God has given me and that he allowed me to do so at that age. My baby is so sweet and so healthy, so happy and so full of love.
Janet has been vocal about her insecurities in the past so most of this shouldn’t come as a surprise to us. We love that motherhood has granted her so much peace and confidence. We also hope that her audience is truly listening to her message about self love and beauty.
More when you continue.
ROBBIE FIMMANO/WALTER SCHUPFER MANAGEMENT
LB: How do you deal with being photographed?
JJ: I’m better about it, for sure. It’s not what it used to be. And when those moments come about, I don’t look. Therapy helped a great deal with that. I had to find something in my body that I loved, and that was difficult for me to do.
LB: What is it?
JJ: At first, I couldn’t find anything. I would look in the mirror and start crying. I didn’t like that I was not attractive. I didn’t like anything about me. But I wound up falling in love with the small of my back. And then from there I found more things. And then finally realizing my smile isn’t that bad after all. I thought I looked like the Joker because it was so big.
Shocking right? Janet is such a NATURALLY beautiful woman it’s astounding to hear how she struggled to find beauty in herself or even her smile for so long. It’s far from “not that bad” it’s gorgeous.
And this question might be our favorite of all:
LB: Where do you want to be when you’re 80?
JJ: I’d love to be a grandma. I’d love to, hopefully, still inspire people with my work, whatever it is. And more than anything, I know I’m going to be helping people and inspire others to do the same. I feel that is what I was put on this earth to do. I want to help women who are abused and suffering from being in relationships where men have them gagged, have their hands tied. No woman should go through that.
We pray she’ll get to be a grandma and we definitely hope she’s able to help other women who have been in abusive relationships. She’s so private we don’t know much about what Janet went through in her marriages abut based on the few things we have heard and what we know about her insecurities, it seems she’s been through a lot.
We’re just so happy to see Janet getting the love she so deserves from the media and public lately!
InStyle’s Beauty issue is available on newsstands, Amazon and for digital download on Sept. 14!
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