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Piers Morgan Live
One-on-One with Janet Jackson
Aired February 15, 2011 - 21:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
PIERS MORGAN, HOST: I'm here in Beverly Hills. It's the most glamorous place on earth. And I'm about to interview one of the most glamorous people on earth. She's an edgy sex symbol who's sold 100 million albums and millions more concert and movie tickets.
JANET JACKSON, SINGER/DANCER/ACTRESS: Hi, Piers. I can't wait to meet you. I'm very excited. And that's Miss Jackson to you.
MORGAN: Janet Jackson, or Miss Jackson, if you're nasty to her, never talks about her private life really, but tonight she's going to make an exception. She's told me I can ask her anything I like about her life in one of the most famous families in history. It should be an amazing encounter.
How are you?
JACKSON: How are you?
MORGAN: May I? Lovely to meet you.
Janet, how are you?
JACKSON: I'm very giddy right now.
MORGAN: Giddy?
JACKSON: Yes.
MORGAN: It is exciting for you, I know.
JACKSON: It's good to see you.
MORGAN: Is it exciting? Do you like doing interviews or do you hate them? How do you feel?
JACKSON: I'm not very keen about doing interviews.
MORGAN: Why not?
JACKSON: I'm not much of a talker. I mean, obviously I will if I have to, but I'd rather listen. I'd rather just stay very quiet and listen to what's going on.
MORGAN: And you've written this book, which is incredibly open. And I was really surprised, knowing how private you normally are. As I read it, I said, wow, she's really being frank and honest here about some very private stuff.
JACKSON: Well, it's funny that you say that because a lot of people said the very same thing when I did the "Velvet Rope" album. But I've always written about my life experiences, and this is just another step, another level for me.
MORGAN: Reading your book, Janet, there seems to be two Janet Jacksons. The brilliant stage performer with all the confidence of the top performer, and then there's the quiet, shy, retiring young Janet who goes home who's very different.
Which one have I got today?
JACKSON: I don't know. Maybe a little bit of both. I don't know.
(LAUGHTER)
MORGAN: You are two people, aren't you?
JACKSON: Yes. Yes, I am. I think everybody -- I think -- it's beyond two people. I think -- I mentioned this in the "Velvet Rope," really. I think we have several different characters that live within us. And it all depends upon who we're interacting with. But that character comes out at that moment.
MORGAN: Well, you've had this extraordinary life where, reading your book, you know, from the moment you were born you were born into fame. You had no choice. You had to be famous because you were a Jackson and you were one of the youngest Jacksons. So you had no option here.
If I could take you back and give you an option, so you're not 3 or 4 years old, and I hold the keys to that door to fame --
JACKSON: Three or four?
MORGAN: Say you're 3 or 4.
JACKSON: OK.
MORGAN: You're right at the moment when you're about to start performing. And I can say to you, Janet, you don't have to go through that door, you can keep out of this, you can remain anonymous and be a normal person. Would you take that?
JACKSON: Well, there were two things that I wanted. When I was 5, 6, 7 and I was very serious about it, I wanted to be a horse racing jockey.
MORGAN: Did you really?
JACKSON: Yes. No, I'm serious. I started riding when I was 5. I wanted to be a horse racing jockey. Then when I was around 14 is when I got my first recording contract. At 14, actually. I didn't want to sing. I wanted to go to school and study business law. And I wanted to act.
MORGAN: But that's the feeling I get from the book is that you were kind of -- you had to go along with this. You had to be a singer because that's what the family did. It was the family business.
JACKSON: That's what my father wanted me to do. And, I mean, I'm very grateful, I'm very thankful.
MORGAN: Do you regret the loss of your anonymity? I mean you're now so ludicrously famous. What I was offering you really was the deal to not be famous.
JACKSON: But you --
MORGAN: If you had that power again not to be famous, would you prefer not to be or do you quite like it?
JACKSON: I don't mind it. I mean, there are moments when I wish I could just crawl into a little shell and for no one to know who I am. But I can't say that I miss it because I don't know what that's like. You can't miss something that you've never experienced.
And granted I've never -- the reason why I say that is because all my brothers were famous even though I hadn't been on camera, on screen. I got a lot of attention just from being the baby of the family and being, you know, a girl, a little girl. So I always got quite a bit of attention since I can remember.
MORGAN: Not being able to lead a normal life for most of the time that you exist must be difficult. People -- ordinary people can't understand that really. They don't really understand the goldfish bowl that you in particular as part of this family have had to exist in.
JACKSON: You do live in some sort of a bubble, but it's normalcy for me. Like I said, it's -- my brothers were famous when I was 2 years old, to help you to kind of understand. So I moved to California when I was 2 and it was on from there. I've been very blessed, very fortunate, and it's made me who I am today, the good, the bad, the ugly, the all of it.
MORGAN: There's not very much ugly about you, Janet, if you don't mind me saying.
JACKSON: Thank you.
MORGAN: I thought I like this ring. Can we have a little look at this?
JACKSON: My ring?
MORGAN: Isn't it skull and cross bones?
JACKSON: Yes.
MORGAN: Is this -- what are they, the heads of interviewers who've disappointed you over the years?
JACKSON: I told you. I've got a special finger for you.
(LAUGHTER)
MORGAN: I'll bet you have. Which one is it?
JACKSON: It's this one.
MORGAN: It's that one.
(LAUGHTER)
JACKSON: I love skulls.
MORGAN: You love skulls.
JACKSON: Yes.
MORGAN: Sort of creepy, isn't it?
JACKSON: No.
MORGAN: Really?
JACKSON: I don't think so. I just think they're really cool looking.
MORGAN: Do you collect real ones or --
JACKSON: No.
MORGAN: No? How many skull-like things do you have?
JACKSON: Oh, I don't know. I really don't.
MORGAN: This is fascinating.
JACKSON: No one's ever asked me before. This is my first time saying this.
MORGAN: So you've never revealed your skull addiction before.
JACKSON: Well, I don't know if it's an addiction. And it's no deeper meaning of this cult or whatever that. It's just something that I like. Just a little motif that I like. That's all. Nothing deeper.
MORGAN: Janet, one of the other major themes of the book is clearly your ongoing relationship with food. How would you best articulate it?
JACKSON: Love/hate?
(LAUGHTER) JACKSON: Relationship. It's -- it's been a tough road, a tough battle since I was very little and not feeling worthy, self-esteem issues, issues dealing with food stemming from when I was very, very young. Not feeling who I was good enough as I was.
MORGAN: The weird thing about having sort of addictive problem to food, which is what you articulate in the book so well, is unlike other addictions -- if it was drink or drug or anything like that. You always have the power to give it up. You may remain an addict, but you can give it up, you can stop taking the drugs or the alcohol.
JACKSON: You don't need it to live.
MORGAN: Yes. For food, the addiction is there every day, isn't it? There's no giving up. You have to eat food to live.
JACKSON: You do. I mean, I'm not in denial in any way. I've never had someone say to me you're addicted to food and maybe that's what it is for me. I've never had anyone say that to me, but the way that I feel about it, it definitely -- and it still is an issue for me.
But you know, figuring out where to place it. Where -- I was an emotional eater. I still am. And I have to -- I've learned how to -- how to handle certain issues and not to run to that for comfort.
MORGAN: When I interviewed Oprah Winfrey for this show, she said the worst day professionally she'd had was when some movie she'd been involved with, the ratings came in and they were terrible. And she said she went and ate just a gargantuan amount of food that week.
JACKSON: She did the whole week?
MORGAN: She was laughing but it was just ridiculous. And she was laughing but at the same time it made her even more unhappy.
JACKSON: Made her more depressed, I'm sure.
MORGAN: Yes. And what -- how did it manifest itself with you when you've gone through bad times and you were eating too much? What would you do?
JACKSON: It's bingeing.
MORGAN: Like what, though? Let's have a bit of insight on bingeing.
JACKSON: Whatever you like, whether it's fries, pizza, or -- I love caramel apples.
MORGAN: They're nice.
JACKSON: Yes, aren't they good? I mean I think everything you can have in moderation. To eat healthy is very important. But still, you can have those things in moderation, a little here, a little there. I still eat caramel apples. MORGAN: Do you?
JACKSON: Yes.
MORGAN: They're the nicest thing ever.
JACKSON: I love them with nuts. I like them with the peanuts on the outside. Love them.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MORGAN: When we come back, the secret life of a superstar sex symbol.
JACKSON: There was a time when I was so down and felt so unattractive and it lasted for a very, very long time, but I used to -- I used to bang my head against the wall.
(END OF VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
MORGAN: When you're -- I guess, reading the book, when you're at your worst in terms of the eating and you began to hate yourself, you got depressed. I mean, what were you feeling at that time? What made you suddenly think I've got to get a grip?
JACKSON: It's been a few times. Just knowing what I was going through, looking at myself in the mirror, realizing that I'm not myself or looking in the mirror and not really recognizing the person I'm looking at. It's like, who is this person?
You don't look like yourself. You look like someone completely, totally different human being. So this has got to stop, this madness and being in this depression and yada-yada-yada. And it's been tough. But I've learned to deal with it. I've learned to -- you know, how to deal with it.
MORGAN: How? What's the trick? For people watching this who are going through a similar thing?
JACKSON: Well, it's just -- it's just not about, OK, how do you stop the eating? It's deeper than that. There are issues behind that. Well, you have to figure out what's creating it first in order to figure out how to stop it. Because it's not just -- it's not just about someone going in their refrigerator and saying, OK, I want this, I want this.
There's something behind that. And that's what you have to figure out. Get a hold of. And once you deal with that, then it makes everything else a little easier, a lot easier, for me.
MORGAN: How depressed did you get?
JACKSON: There was -- it was pretty bad. It was bad. It was pretty bad. MORGAN: What's "pretty bad"?
JACKSON: It depends. And I always say that because of different stages in my life. When I was a kid, they told me that I started developing at a very young age. They said my chest was too big, so they'd bind my chest for performances. Not my family. This was the very first show that I did, "Good Times." They didn't tell me they were going to do this. They just wound up doing it.
So right there immediately it's telling me, you're not good enough as you are. So this is where this stemmed from.
How bad did it get? Well, that's kind of where it started. And even before that when, you know, you have someone calling you names or whether it's a name of endearment, I was the kind of kid that internalized everything. Some people --
MORGAN: Michael called you Donk, didn't he?
JACKSON: Yes.
MORGAN: Sort of the donkey.
JACKSON: Yes.
MORGAN: That's not very nice.
JACKSON: No, but what -- no, it's not, but when it's coming from a family member who means it out of love, it's just fun. They don't realize what it could be doing to you. And especially being the baby -- you have a big family, a lot of brothers and sisters or you don't even have to have a big family, but being the baby you seems to always --
MORGAN: A little teasing.
JACKSON: A lot of teasing and you get it more so than anybody else.
MORGAN: Do you think in your case it affected you more than any of them realized, that it was all chipping away at your self-esteem?
JACKSON: Yes. This is what I'm getting at. They didn't know. I kept -- I was so quiet, I never told anyone how I felt. I was just -- I was hurting inside but I never said anything to anybody about it. And I'd laugh it off like it was nothing, not wanting to show that the pain that it was truly causing.
So that's not -- that's not -- you don't do that. That's not the thing to do. That's what I did, and I kept that up for years. And my life began to change.
MORGAN: You said you'd been through this a few times, and it's been like a cyclical thing, you know, where your weight has gone up and down, and you've talked openly about this in the book in a very moving way. And there'll be lots of women watching this who've been through similar things in their lives.
JACKSON: But see, it's not just about weight, Piers. It's about self-esteem. It's about --
MORGAN: About how you feel.
JACKSON: Yes, and that's why I started from my childhood because I didn't want to just appeal to women or men. I wanted to appeal to teenagers, to kids so that they know they're not alone. And maybe one of these anecdotes that I give them they can relate to.
For instance, in the book I talk about there was a time when I was so down and felt so unattractive, and it lasted for a very, very long time, that I used to -- I used to bang my head against the wall.
MORGAN: Really?
JACKSON: Yes. And --
MORGAN: Hard?
JACKSON: Yes.
MORGAN: Picture it. Like this.
JACKSON: Yes. And the person that I was with, my ex-husband at the time, I mean, he'd have to stop me. And --
MORGAN: What were you thinking when you did that?
JACKSON: I --
MORGAN: Crazy?
JACKSON: No. I didn't feel crazy. I just felt very unattractive. I didn't like who I was. I didn't like the way I looked. I -- but once again all of this stemming from you're not right, this is how you should be, you're not good enough this way, you're not worthy, you know, fraudulent, whatever the case is.
And all of that is building and building and building, accumulating to this point in my life. And that went on for a good while.
MORGAN: Did you ever feel suicidal?
JACKSON: No. No.
MORGAN: Not that bad.
JACKSON: No. No. There may be an instant of -- but no, not like that. Not like that.
MORGAN: Most families are dysfunctional. I totally agree with that. But you take anyone's family and give them the kind of scrutiny the Jackson family has had, they'd all look dysfunctional in some way. JACKSON: But you don't even have to give them that. You take any family, you will find there are issues.
MORGAN: Yes. Everyone. Everyone has it, right?
JACKSON: Yes. Mm-hmm.
MORGAN: The difference is that you've had to -- all of you -- lead life in this crazy kind of --
JACKSON: Under a microscope.
MORGAN: Yes.
JACKSON: Yes.
MORGAN: Which makes it different to most people.
JACKSON: It magnifies it that much more. It makes it very hard. It's not an easy life.
MORGAN: It can't be.
JACKSON: Everyone thinks oh, it's so glamorous, it's this, it's that. And like you said, the two sides. People see you as this and there's no way. You mustn't have any problems.
MORGAN: I never give it a moment of thought about how I look at all. And a lot of men I know are the same. But for you I've noticed all these magazine covers that come out, this incredible premium that is put on female stars to look 100 percent all the time. And even when you go out now and try to be normal of course there's paparazzi everywhere.
JACKSON: Everywhere.
MORGAN: Hoping to catch you looking a little bit rough. I mean the pressure must be enormous.
JACKSON: It's crazy. It's crazy. And I think that's why a lot of the women to deal -- a lot of them swinging in the other direction and they're undereating. I mean some of the stories that I hear which I'm not going to get into, and I'm not going to tell people's tea, but --
MORGAN: Other female stars who just did crazy things.
JACKSON: Yes. That's not my place to do that. But --
MORGAN: Without naming names, what are the craziest things you're hearing? Don't name them.
JACKSON: No, I'm not going to name names.
MORGAN: What kind of things?
JACKSON: I hear about -- OK. This is the worst. Eating tissue, Kleenex, to fill the stomach so you're full.
MORGAN: What?
JACKSON: Yes. So that you're full.
MORGAN: People do that?
JACKSON: Yes. So that you're full and that you don't -- you won't want another bite to eat and that's what you eat.
MORGAN: That's crazy.
JACKSON: That's crazy. And then for the kids to see this and to look up and see, oh, this is what I'm supposed to, this is what I want to look like or what I'm supposed to look like. And want to go on a diet from a very young age and not living a life as a kid.
I was told at a very young age on the show "Good Times" once again, too, that I needed to go on a diet. I was only, what, 11, 12? And I look back on those shows and I wasn't a heavy kid. Once again, what that does -- and like I said, some people can just brush it right off but others, they really internalize it. And that was me.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MORGAN: Coming up, Janet Jackson's rocky relationship with her father.
One occasion you cite when you were getting out of the bathtub and he whacks you.
(END OF VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
MORGAN: Your dad is a fascinating character. You know, I always think he gets a bit of a hard rap, your dad, because yes, he's a disciplinarian, but, wow, without that discipline that he had, would any of you have gotten where you got? I mean, I don't know. But I suspect his drive and the pressure he put on all of you, and the work ethic and all this kind of thing --
JACKSON: He's very strong.
MORGAN: Yes. I mean, would you say, when you look back on your relationship with your father, is he predominantly a good man, do you think? How would you position him?
JACKSON: I think my father means well. I think he means well and wants nothing but the best for his kids. I just think that the way he went about certain things wasn't the best way. But, you know, it got the job done. And that's because of maybe how he was raised, doing what he thought was best, not knowing any better. So you know --
MORGAN: You tell the story in the book on one occasion you cite when you're getting out of the bathtub and he whacks you. How old were you then?
JACKSON: I was very young. I remember being younger than 8, let me put it like that.
MORGAN: That's pretty bad.
JACKSON: Yes. And I can't remember what it was that I did. I can't remember if I truly deserved it. My father has never touched me aside from that time. He's never put --
MORGAN: But he did the boys quite a lot.
JACKSON: Yes.
MORGAN: He's got a physically disciplinarian --
JACKSON: Yes. When my -- when my brother Randy and I, when we came along, I think my parents got kind of tired having nine kids and raising these children. I think they became -- and everyone says you guys get -- you guys have it so easy, my other brothers and sisters would say, and my parents were a lot more lenient with us, and I thought they were very strict.
MORGAN: Does he -- does he ever tell you that he loves you?
JACKSON: Yes, he has.
MORGAN: He can do that. He has that?
JACKSON: He has done that before.
MORGAN: But not often, I shouldn't think.
JACKSON: No.
MORGAN: He doesn't give the impression of being very demonstrative in that way emotionally.
JACKSON: He's very tough. Jacksons don't cry.
MORGAN: Is that --
(CROSSTALK)
MORGAN: Really? You do.
JACKSON: Of course I do.
MORGAN: You're quite emotional.
JACKSON: Are you kidding me? Yes, I cry. Everybody cries.
MORGAN: How do you get along with him now? Honestly.
JACKSON: Well, you think I'm going to sit here and lie to you?
MORGAN: Maybe.
(LAUGHTER)
JACKSON: That's wrong. We don't speak that much.
MORGAN: When did you last talk to him?
JACKSON: Honestly it's not often. Not --
MORGAN: Weeks? Months?
JACKSON: It's been -- oh, no. It hasn't been months, not like that. A few weeks ago.
MORGAN: Do you feel sad about that? Do you feel sad you don't have a relationship with him that is better?
JACKSON: Not anymore. I used to. It would have been nice. I would go over a friend's house when mother would let me go, and I'd see my friends, the relationship with their father, how they call them dad and sit all on their lap and --
MORGAN: What did you call him?
JACKSON: Joseph.
MORGAN: (INAUDIBLE)
JACKSON: One time I tried to call him dad.
MORGAN: And what happened?
JACKSON: He said no. He said, I'm Joseph. You call me Joseph. I'm Joseph to you. When your father tells you one time, you don't do it again. So I always called him Joseph.
MORGAN: Sad, isn't it, he's --
JACKSON: Yes, it is. I mean, I wish our relationship was different, but I know that he loves me.
MORGAN: In his weird, strange way.
JACKSON: That's exactly what it is. There's no question about -- I know that he loves me, and he's told me before. It's -- you know, he has his issues, his things, the way he was brought up, and he's set in his ways, and I think he did the best that he could and I think he did a wonderful job with us.
I mean, the outcome, but the way he went about it, and I don't know if I agree with that. But we turned out OK. We turned out --
MORGAN: Do you think you'll have children?
JACKSON: I hope so.
MORGAN: Do you worry the clock is ticking or not?
JACKSON: No. That's -- you know, I've given that up to God.
MORGAN: Have you come close to thinking right, I'm going to have a baby now?
JACKSON: I never really thought about having children until I got with Jermaine Dupree, when he and I were together. That was the first time I really wanted to have children. I felt -- I don't -- I felt comfortable in the relationship at that time.
How he would be as a father, how he is as a father -- he has a little girl. But we're not together anymore, so I -- you know, I don't know if I'll have kids. But I've really given it up to God. If it's meant to be, it's going to --
MORGAN: Don't you -- be a good mom?
JACKSON: I hope so. Everyone tells me -- for the longest, they've told me oh, you'd make a great mother. I say why? You're very nurturing. You're very mothering. You take care of people all the time, and yadda yadda yadda. So I don't know.
MORGAN: What would you do differently if you had a child to the way your father treated you?
JACKSON: A lot of attention. A lot of love. Spend a lot of time. I'd let them know how much I love them all the time. They'd know. Wouldn't have to wonder, guess.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
MORGAN: When we come back, the saddest moment of Janet's life, losing Michael.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MORGAN: Are you able now to think about the happy memories? Have you got to that stage yet?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MORGAN: When your brother did the Charlie Chaplain smile routine at the memorial for Michael --
JACKSON: My brother Jermaine.
MORGAN: Yes. It seemed completely appropriate to anyone that knew him because what I remember about Michael is this amazing smile he had, apart from the genius talent. You know, I still say to people I saw him in Paris in the early '90s. I have never seen a concert like it in my life. JACKSON: Wonderful performer.
MORGAN: I mean incredible performer. But he had this amazing smile. Do you feel he's still with you? Do you feel he smiles down on you?
JACKSON: Yes. A day doesn't go by where I don't think about him. Not one day. That goes for the rest of my brothers and sisters we've spoken about.
MORGAN: Some of the most touching stuff in the book is about you and Michael when you were very young. Really like those passages. Because it's kind of like you were looking after each other's backs a bit, you know? You each had each other and yet the teasing was relentless and he could be very naughty with you. But he always kind of knew you were there for him.
JACKSON: I feel that he did. I hope so. We never talked about that but that's -- I feel like it's part of my job as little sister to have my back -- to have the back of my brothers and sisters.
MORGAN: What was he like as a little chap?
JACKSON: The kid?
MORGAN: Yes.
JACKSON: I heard he was bad. I did. As a little kid? Because I mean, obviously I heard he used to prank -- tease people all the time and but he was a -- he was a good kid, though.
MORGAN: When you came along and you became his back watcher, and you both got a little bit older each time, how did your relationship evolve?
JACKSON: We were very close. Mike and I were very close. We used to -- we used to go to this restaurant called Loves. I don't think it's in existence any more. And we used to get these -- a ton of dinners. And we'd drive around in the car looking for homeless people to give them to.
MORGAN: Did you?
JACKSON: Yes. We did it. We used to do it all the time. We'd just give them food. One guy threw it at us. "I don't need your stinking food." I was like, Mike, let's get out of here.
MORGAN: Yes, I can imagine you handling that OK. But I'd imagine Michael probably freaked with that.
JACKSON: Well no, he was driving and I'm the one that's passing out the food. We got out of there though.
But yes, that's the only time we ever -- any sort of rejection. But ---- MORGAN: And are you able now because enough time has passed that the terrible grief you must have felt at the time. Are you able now to think back with happy memories. Have you got to that stage yet?
JACKSON: Yes.
MORGAN: What do you think about?
JACKSON: About passing out the dinners to the homeless. About taking care of the animals for the kids, and as for the talks that we had. Things like that.
MORGAN: What was it -- for those that didn't know him, what was he like? What was the misconceptions of Michael, do you think?
JACKSON: Very sweet. Very gentle. Incredibly smart. Always about love. Always about love. He -- he -- he knew who he was.
MORGAN: Do you think most people misunderstood him?
JACKSON: Yes.
MORGAN: I interviewed Michael.
JACKSON: Oh you did.
MORGAN: Yes. I interviewed him. And I found it fascinating to actually talk one on one with him because, A, he seemed completely normal to me. And we had a great discussion about all sorts of things. Great sense of humor.
But what was really interesting -- and I wanted to read you some of this -- was what he said about Princess Diana who had just died.
He said to me, "I told her that no normal person could possibly understand the life that she led. I've had that attention since I was a kid. Diana had it only from only the age of 19. I had it all my life, so I knew how to handle it. I just said to her, rise above it all. I would tell her how I would go on stage sometimes and the worst pain, either emotionally or physically, was something like a toothache. And I would put whatever it was out of my mind and perform.
"And I said to her be strong, be determined. No one can hurt you. You can only hurt yourself. To be defiant. I think she appreciated and got something from my words. I think I was able to comfort her."
And when I read your book, there's a lot of similarity there in terms of the way that you dealt with the appalling tragedy of Michael's death. You know, you had to get back out, perform. And when I read these words again, I was thinking wow, it's almost exactly the situation you find yourself in.
JACKSON: For one, listening to what you just said, what he had said to you, a part of that is how my father raised us. Whatever's aching you, whatever's going on in your personal life, you don't let it show. You have a job to do.
They're not there to know your business. Get up there. They paid their hard money to see you work, to see you perform and you give them that. So you don't let them -- you don't show the pain that's going on inside of you.
I got back to work right after my brother passed. It was very difficult, the times, and there were moments that when it would help me get through it. And --
MORGAN: Performing does.
JACKSON: Yes.
MORGAN: Is that because you have a kind of weird communion with an audience? Having people there to almost share it with. Is it that?
JACKSON: This -- this -- this one on one it's just -- even -- one on one or are getting in front of a small group, that's difficult for me.
MORGAN: But 80,000 people on a stage is a different thing.
JACKSON: A no-brainer. Isn't that weird?
MORGAN: It is weird.
JACKSON: Isn't that crazy?
MORGAN: I mean, I can't -- I don't know what that's like because I've never done that.
JACKSON: And here's another one that's kind of crazy. I don't like when people stare at me.
MORGAN: Really? Oh dear, I mean, I've been staring at you for about half an hour.
JACKSON: I say well that's -- it's like I'm in the wrong profession. I'm in the wrong business. Gosh, I don't --
MORGAN: You don't like being looked at. You are in the wrong business.
JACKSON: I know, right? It's crazy. It's kind of crazy. I'm in the wrong business.
But it's easier for me when I'm moving, when I'm this -, when I'm that -. But if I'm just still in speaking it's a lot harder for me so I just have to put on that face.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
MORGAN: In a moment, Ms. Jackson on the real diva in the family.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JACKSON: Let me stop because I think my sister is a diva. She's going to kill me.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MORGAN: I want to talk to you about sex, love and marriage. I don't really mind which order you do it in.
JACKSON: OK.
MORGAN: Where do you want to start?
JACKSON: You're the one who wants to talk about it. You start.
MORGAN: I find you fascinating in this area. You've been married twice. You're clearly a very romantic woman, I can tell that. You're also from your lyrics a quite naughty girl, aren't you?
JACKSON: Am I?
MORGAN: I think so. Yes. You're quite a sexual woman. I'm not afraid to say it.
JACKSON: That's a beautiful thing. It's beautiful. But see you guys are more open.
MORGAN: Well yes, they're a bit more prudish in America, aren't they?
JACKSON: Yes.
MORGAN: You should have been European, really.
JACKSON: Maybe I was in another life. I don't know. Maybe that's where all of this comes from, is stemming from.
MORGAN: Yes. It could be, couldn't it?
JACKSON: Possibly. I don't know.
MORGAN: How many times have you been in love?
JACKSON: Truly in love? Three.
MORGAN: And you married two of them, hopefully. Did you? You were in love with both of your husbands, I hope.
No, you weren't, were you? This is great. Really?
JACKSON: No, truly in love five.
MORGAN: How come it just went from three to five?
JACKSON: Because I wasn't --
MORGAN: -- thinking properly.
JACKSON: Yes.
MORGAN: Do you like being in love? Or is it agonizing.
JACKSON: No. I mean, obviously relationships can be tough, but I love being in relationships. I'm not a -- I'm not a loner. Granted, I do need my moments where I just need to be -- but --
MORGAN: Are you easy to be with? Do you think? You high maintenance, low maintenance, middle maintenance?
JACKSON: I always thought I was low maintenance. Why are you laughing? Why? What?
MORGAN: Your extensive entourage, it appears to suggest that maybe --
JACKSON: Extensive?
MORGAN: -- middling to high.
JACKSON: Is it that bad?
MORGAN: It's not that bad. Actually, they're quite nice people. I was expecting some monsters to arrive to beat me up.
JACKSON: No. they've been with me for years too.
MORGAN: And they were quite cheeky to you earlier, I thought.
JACKSON: That's the relationship we have. I mean, years, 17 years, 20 something years.
MORGAN: Have you -- have you ever been a diva?
JACKSON: I don't think so. If -- look at as strict as my parents were and disciplinarians, I -- well let me stop because I think my sister's a diva. She's going to kill me.
MORGAN: LaToya?
JACKSON: Why LaToya? I could have meant Rebbie.
MORGAN: Well, which one did you mean?
JACKSON: LaToya.
MORGAN: See? You're the diva.
JACKSON: My sister -- my grandmother was very grand and my -- I think my sister's very grand. MORGAN: Well, I think LaToya wouldn't deny being a diva. She loves being a diva, doesn't she?
JACKSON: I mean, she's beautiful. Just a -- she wouldn't be LaToya if she wasn't that way. And I love her just as she is.
But I don't -- I don't -- my friends tell me that I'm not my family. They tell me that I'm not the people that I've worked with. They said oh, we expected you to be annoying. You're totally the opposite. So I guess I'm not.
MORGAN: Your first marriage ended, do you think, because you were basically too young. Too inexperienced, too young and he had issues that you really just couldn't really reconcile with.
JACKSON: At the time, I didn't think it was because I was too young. But yes.
MORGAN: Looking back on it.
JACKSON: Yes. And I think I did it for the wrong reasons. Not to say that I wasn't in love with him, but I did it for the wrong reasons.
MORGAN: And the second time?
JACKSON: What about it?
MORGAN: What went wrong there?
JACKSON: Oh, I can't speak about it, unfortunately.
MORGAN: Oh, really?
JACKSON: Yes. Not because of me but because --
MORGAN: You just agreed not to.
JACKSON: He asked me not to and I gave him my word that I wouldn't.
MORGAN: Do you think you'll get married again? You weary now? Have you -- is it twice bitten twice shy?
JACKSON: You know how everyone says third time is the charm? And I thought well maybe marriage isn't for me. Maybe I'm just meant to, I don't know, have someone -- live with someone but not tie the knot. And I always thought I don't need a piece of paper to validate what it is I have with someone.
MORGAN: Do you find it easy to meet guys? I mean, you are Janet Jackson, you can't -- you must be quite intimidating. You turn up with your big --
JACKSON: That's what guys have always said.
MORGAN: -- well I mean you come on here with your skull and crossbones. I mean, even I'm feeling slightly --
JACKSON: Oh stop it. For me to meet guys? No. For guys to meet me? I -- there's some -- some -- most of them I think have been intimidated. That's what I've heard.
MORGAN: Well they've got to get past your security detail first because --
JACKSON: No. I'm very easy to talk to.
MORGAN: Are you?
JACKSON: I think so.
MORGAN: I think you are.
JACKSON: I think so. I mean I might be a little bit quiet, but I don't think I'm shy. But I think I'm pretty easy to talk to.
But I'd love to have a family and do all of that juicy stuff. I would, but it's really up to God.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JACKSON: I've got skulls everywhere, see?
MORGAN: You have -- you've got even more skulls. They're all skulls. I mean it's a bit weird, isn't it?
JACKSON: No. it's not weird.
MORGAN: No?
JACKSON: Well why? You say you like them, don't you?
MORGAN: Yes, but you talk about love and everything and then you're just covered in skulls.
JACKSON: I like the way they look. But what's wrong with that?
MORGAN: I don't know. I mean, it's just a weird thing to --
JACKSON: I don't know. I'm not -- I love, by the way, your accent.
MORGAN: Thank you. I like yours.
JACKSON: I don't -- to you, do I have an accent?
MORGAN: Of course you do.
JACKSON: I do? MORGAN: Yes. You're a weird American.
JACKSON: Thanks.
MORGAN: My pleasure.
MORGAN: What sort of thing that makes you happiest in the end? If I wanted to make you really happy, how would I do it?
JACKSON: I don't know if you could.
MORGAN: Well I'd have a damn good go.
JACKSON: There are a few things: my family, my relationship with God, what I do, performing, the love that I receive and support from fans. Those things make me happy.
MORGAN: You're going out on tour with a greatest hits tour. And it's going to be ridiculously huge, clearly, isn't it? I mean how are you feeling about it? Are you excited?
JACKSON: I'm so excited. We're really excited about it. No, I'm not nervous at all. But the biggest tour that I will have done to date. I mean, allowing the fans to vote for which city they'd like me to come to perform -- in which city. And it's -- the response has been incredible. Incredible.
MORGAN: What's been the best moment of your life?
JACKSON: It would have to be a moment that I'm not going to go into but a moment with my family. That's when I'm beside myself when we're all together. I love --
MORGAN; And there was one moment in particular you're thinking of.
JACKSON: I love, love -- like my -- my great nephew, London Bloom (ph), he says Auntie Janet, I love this family. This is such a great family. He's so cute. He's five. And it's just sweet moments.
We -- when we all get together, which is rare -- it's hard.
MORGAN: When it happens, do you all feel like --
JACKSON: It's special.
MORGAN: -- OK, we are a bit crazy, the Jacksons. But when we get together, we have an amazing family.
JACKSON: We have a wonderful family. We have a wonderful time together. That's the thing. Such great fun. That's what I love.
MORGAN: Just to wrap this up -- it's been a fascinating encounter. I don't know quite what to expect, but you've been fascinating. But you're exuding to me an air of being as happy with yourself, perhaps, as you've ever been. JACKSON: I am. I told you before I'm in a -- I'm in a wonderful space. And it's -- it's about having that happiness, that love from within. Through it, all of this -- all of the material things, all of that. It's just stuff. It has to come from inside and I'm very happy.
MORGAN: You found peace with yourself.
JACKSON: Yes.
MORGAN: It's been lovely meeting you.
JACKSON: Nice to have met you. Thank you.
MORGAN: And your bones.
JACKSON: And my bones.
