Jermain Dupri Admits He Was "Reckless" While Dating Janet Jackson

When Janet Jackson and Jermaine Dupri called it quits we all wanted to know why! After eight years together, what could’ve caused them to split? Ms. Jackson and Jermaine Dupri tell all in part 2 of her documentary on Lifetime and A&E that aired last night.

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Any man would kill to say that “Ms. Jackson if you’re nasty” was his and back in 2000 that man was Jermaine Dupri. The two juggled a long distance relationship from 2000 to 2008 and while the relationship seemed perfect to the outside, there were several issues happening on the inside.

“I had heard he was cheating,” she said. “But there were other things…I needed more than he was giving me. He was a workaholic and he was constantly working — as soon as he was done working, after he would go to the club. I would ask him to carve out a little time for me,” she said.

“I always felt that he didn’t have enough time for a girlfriend…I would say that work was his girlfriend,” said The Control singer. She also admitted that she wanted to have “as many kids” as Jermaine would give her. During their relationship she even thought Jermaine was “it” for her at the time.

Everyone including black Twitter wanted to know how in the world could Grammy winning producer, Jermaine Dupri fumble this bag! According to Jermaine, he was being “reckless” and confessed to the rumors about cheating.

“One of the weird things is that dating Janet attracts other women — girls wanted to talk to me more because I was dating her…and I’m a man.”

When reflecting on their courtship he added “I dated her longer than her marriages,” and during the course of their relationship the mega producer actually proposed to Janet.

“I’m sure I could have fought much harder and it would have been something that never gone away,” he said during the doc.

Like all couples, the two had to weather many storms. One of those storms being the infamous 2004 Super Bowl scandal with Janet and Justin Timberlake.

”Honestly, this whole thing was blown way out of proportion. And, of course, it was an accident that should not have happened, but everyone is looking for someone to blame and that’s got to stop,” she said of the incident.

”Justin and I are very good friends, and we will always be very good friends,” Jackson continued. “We spoke just a few days ago. He and I have moved on, and it’s time for everyone else to do the same.”

Back in 2004 Janet faced scrutiny and backlash over the fallout of the Super Bowl halftime performance in which Justin accidentally exposed Jackson’s breast to an audience of approximately 140 million people as they performed “Rock Your Body.”

While speaking to brother Randy Jackson in the documentary, Janet recalled Timberlake asking her at the time if he should speak out publicly amid the backlash.

“We talked once and [Justin] said, ‘I don’t know if I should come out and make a statement,'” Janet said. “And I said, ‘Listen, I don’t want any drama for you. They’re aiming all of this at me.’ So I said, ‘If I were you, I wouldn’t say anything.”

Seventeen years later in February of 2021, Timberlake issued a public apology via Instagram to Janet following the release of Framing Britney Spears, the New York Times documentary.

Timberlake said he was “deeply sorry for the times in my life where my actions contributed to the problem, where I spoke out of turn, or did not speak up for what was right.”

Janet’s sincere spirit has allowed her to move on from both situations and still remain amicable with both men. Janet has been quoted saying Jermaine is “a great guy” several times before and obviously the feelings are mutual on his end.

“She’s one of the sexiest women in the world, I think she gave more women confidence to try everything,” he said. “I feel like we’re always going to have a friendship, regardless of what I’m doing or who’s in my life, or regardless of what’s going on.”

The Janet Jackson Doc is a four-part documentary on Janet Jackson’s life. It chronicles the singer’s legendary career and its highs and lows from childhood to adulthood. Did you tune in? What was your favorite part of the documentary? Let us know below!