Queen of Pop Janet Jackson covers the February issue of Allure, and inside the article, she covers a plethora of topics, including her 30+ career, her aspirations before becoming the pop icon she is today, her highly-anticipated documentary, the systemic racism and gender bias she’s endured due to #Nipplegate, body positivity and more.
Check out a few of the article’s highlights below…
On How Her ‘Janet’ Album Ushered in a New Era of Female Body Positivity:
“[That era was about] embracing me and trying to learn to love me for me, my body, all of that. Trying to feel comfortable in embracing that. Throwing myself in the lion’s den. Just going for it, wanting to do something different.”. It was something very tough, very difficult. But I’m glad I walked through it. I’m really glad I got in. It was a way of accepting and loving, accepting yourself and your body.”
On How She Dealt With The Fallout From Nipplegate:
“What’s really important is going back to having that foundation. Not just family, but God. That’s what really pulled me through,” Jackson says. She adds: “It’s tough for me to talk about that time.”
On Laying The Foundation to Create a Versatile Body of Work, Like Her Pop Hits and Socially-Conscious Tracks:
“I feel like I’ve laid a little foundation for myself, so that if I ever choose to, I would be able to continue on that path,. Musically, what I’ve done, like doing ‘Rhythm Nation’ or doing ‘New Agenda’ or doing ‘Skin Game,’ creating those bodies of work with Jimmy and Terry, I feel like I’ve laid a certain foundation.”
I would hope that I’d be able to continue if I choose to. You know what I mean? But only time will tell.”
On Growing Up In The Spotlight:
“I’m very fortunate to have a very loyal and loving fan base. And I think they will always accept me for who I am.
“Everyone would always want to stay young and this and that, but it’s inevitable. I mean, we’re all going to get there.” For a woman who gave a generation of young girls an anthem about controlling one’s destiny, some things are beyond even her determined sway. So she’s thankful for those distinctive cheeks, the ones that she says she’s long been teased about, the ones that give her a perpetually impish face. One fan on Instagram, Jackson says, wondered if she’s been artificially plumping them up. She has not. She’s simply been taking the advice of her trainer, which was that being too thin can make your face gaunt. Not addressing any procedures she may have had in the past, but looking instead to the years ahead, Jackson says she will not overly fill, freeze or stretch her face, nor will she merely rely on good genes and luck. “There’s another road,” she says. “It’s a little bit of zhuzh.”
I don’t know when my day is coming, but at some point it’s going to come and I can choose which path I want to take. I do hope I age gracefully,” she says, because, of course, who doesn’t? “It’s either a little bit of zhuzh or gracefully.”
Janet’s two-night documentary event premieres on Lifetime on January 28. If you want to read the article in full, click here.