Janet Jackson’s Secret Child? Ex-Husband James DeBarge Claims He’s The Father


Janet Jackson recently announced that she was pregnant at 49-years-old. The pregnancy was reportedly the reason behind the cancellation of her tour. Now that the dust has settled on the shock of the news, it looks like rumors of a secret child are being drummed up again in light of Jackson’s exciting news.

There have been rumors about Janet Jackson’s alleged adult daughter, who has reportedly been hidden since back in the day. On the heels of this news, Jackson’s ex-husband James DeBarge came forward to talk to Radar Online to confirm they share a child together, and that he’s been in contact with their alleged daughter.

“Someone had contacted me. She spoke to me by email,” he said. “The first time was two years ago. I have not been able to directly see her face-to-face. She did but without saying [it]. She was angry because another child was trying to come forward and say that she was our child. So she did out of anger.”

DeBarge continued to explain the situation as follows.

“She described as much as she could tell me because she was very fearful at the time. She was very angry about people running with this story about this [other child] being my baby. She got very angry. She’s like, ‘Papa I want to help you out.’ She had so much of personality and she was so accurate with everything she was saying, it was only things that I and Janet know. No one else but god, me and Janet.”

Here’s where it gets really interesting. According to Janet’s ex-husband, he didn’t know that Janet allegedly had this daughter, and when he found out, he said he was emotionally conflicted about the whole thing. He said that Jackson probably didn’t tell him about the alleged child out of “fear.” He continued, “From every angle, from inside and outside… Not knowing how it could hurt her career. A lot of outside influences were involved in our whole relationship to where we didn’t have a chance from the gate.”

As of right now, Janet Jackson hasn’t commented on the news that she supposedly shares a daughter with James DeBarge. She’s not likely to comment on it. That said, Jackson should be used to rumors like these. In 2005, there was a story going around that she had a secret daughter. Back then, James DeBarge’s brother Young DeBarge told WGHT radio that Jackson had a daughter named “Renee” who was living with Jackson’s sister Rebbie Jackson. At the time, James DeBarge didn’t publicly come forward, but Jackson denied the allegations stating, “I do not have a child and all allegations saying so are false.”

That said, it’s been confirmed that Janet is carrying a baby now, which her mother Katherine Jackson encouraged from the very beginning. Jackson is married to Wissam Al Mana, who is eight years younger than Janet. Considering Jackson is older and not usually at an age where a woman carries a child, it’s not surprising to find out that Katherine pushed her to have the baby. According to Page Six, Janet’s mother said, “You cannot afford to wait too much longer. I was already a grandma at your age.”

The pregnancy was a surprise to many of Jackson’s fans, but many guessed that something was up. Janet is a consummate professional, so when she started cancelling dates it was obvious something had changed. Jackson finally addressed that there was a change. Usually, Jackson shies away from speaking about her personal life, but she wanted to address fans who might be disappointed by the cancelled shows.

“We’re in the second leg of the tour, and there actually has been a sudden change. I thought it was important that you be the first to know. My husband and I are planning our family. So I’m going to have to delay the tour.”

She continued, “Please, if you can try and understand that it’s important that I do this now. I have to rest up, doctor’s orders. I have not forgotten about you. I will continue the tour as soon as I possibly can.”

[Photo by Vincenzo Lombardo/Getty Images for Sergio Rossi]

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