Janet Jackson has revealed that her late brother Michael Jackson used to tease her about her weight, calling her a “pig” and a “slaughter hog”.
Addressing the fat-shaming comments in her new documentary, Janet, the “Together Again” singer remembers her relationship with Michael, and how his jokes would affect her.
“There were times when Mike used to tease me and call me names,” she recalls, before listing examples: “‘Pig’, ‘horse’, ‘slaughter hog’, ‘cow’.”
She continued: “He would laugh about it and I’d laugh too, but then there was somewhere down inside that it would hurt. When you have somebody say you’re too heavy, it affects you.”
As reported by The Sun, Jackson opens up about her struggles with body image and emotional eating in the four-part documentary, telling viewers that it started at age 10 when she began playing Penny on US sitcom Good Times.
“I’m an emotional eater, so when I get stressed or something is really bothering me, it comforts me,” she says in the series.
“I did Good Times and that’s the beginning of having weight issues and the way I looked at myself.
“I was developing at a very young age and I started getting a chest and they would bind it so I would look more flat-chested.”
Filmed over the course of five years, Janet will examine the star’s personal life, as well as featuring archival footage of some of the biggest moments from Jackson’s music career, one being the controversial 2004 Super Bowl performance with Justin Timberlake.
A trailer, released in late 2021, showed Jackson reflecting on how she believes the child abuse allegations against Michael affected her career, claiming that she was considered “guilty by association”.
Familiar figures and fellow performers such as Mariah Carey, Missy Elliott, Janelle Monáe, Paula Abdul and Tyler Perry, also contribute to the series.
Janet will be available to watch on Sky Documentaries and NOW from Monday 31 January.
