Janet Jackson says that producers of "good times" told him to "slim" at 10 years old

The singer joined the casting of the sitcom when she was a child actor.


When Janet Jackson joins the cast of Good time In 1977, she already knew the entertainment industry, celebrity and the importance of her image. Part of a business family, his older brothers had become famous for the first time in Jackson 5 years earlier. But when Jackson was thrown into the sitcom at the age of 10, she herself tasted the dark side of the show business. And it didn't take him long to feel the effects.

Jackson revealed that she had been informed by adults on the set of losing weight when she obtained the role of Penny in the fifth season of the show. She also said that she had her chest required to cover the fact that she entered puberty. All of this contributed to the bodily image problems that she would continue to fight a large part of her life.

Read the rest to see what the now 56 years shared to be shameful Good time , as well as his brother Michael make fun of your weight.

Read this then: Michael Jackson said Prince was "bad and mean" for him .

He was told to "slim" as a child actor.

In his 2011 self-assistance book Real you: a trip to find you and love yourself , Jackson writes that he was told to lose weight before starting filming Good time.

"I really didn't want to make the show," she wrote ( via Today ). "I didn't want to be far from my family. And being on television only added my negative feelings about my body."

She continues: "Before the start of production, I was told two things: I was fat and I needed to stop, and because I was starting to develop, I needed to bind my breasts . In both cases, the message was devastating - my body was bad. The message was also clear - to succeed, I had to change my appearance. "

She felt humiliated.

Janet Jackson in 1977
Michael Ochs Archives / Getty Images

Jackson explains in his book that having his chest was particularly traumatic for her.

"[E] Ach Day of shooting, I went through the test of having large gauze bands attached on my chest to hide the natural form of my breasts. It was uncomfortable and humiliating," explains the Grammy winner .

She also said that she had kept her secret emotions from her family. "I didn't know what to do with my feelings of fear and embarrassment," she wrote. "So I hid them. I was ashamed of them. After all, I was an actress, and my work was to please others - nautical, directors and producers - and entertain the public. There was no place for personal confusion. "

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She said that the show had changed the way she saw herself.

Janet Jackson signing an autograph in 1978
Michael Ochs Archives / Getty Images

Jackson also talked about his experience on Good time In his life documentary in 2022, Janet Jackson . AE0FCC31AE342FD3A1346EBB1F342FCB

"I did it Good time , and it is the beginning of having weight problems and the way I looked at myself, "she said ( via People ). "I was developing at a very young age and I started to get a chest, and they would bind it so that I would seem more to flat torso." She added: "I am an emotional eater, so when I'm stressed or something really bothers me, it comforts me."

The teasing of his brother did not help.

Janet and Michael Jackson at the 1975 American Music Awards
Michael Ochs Archives / Getty Images

Also in the documentary, Jackson spoke of his brother Michael teasing her with regard to her weight. She said he would call her names, notably "Pig, Horse, [Expletif] or Hog, Cow".

She explained: "It was not at all malicious on her part." You are too heavy ", even if it was out of love, that affects you."

She remembers being aware of her younger looks.

Janet Jackson at the 2018 Billboard Music Awards
Kathy Hutchins / Shutterstock

In his book, Jackson also writes on a first memory of comparison of his appearance to someone else: his oldest brother, Rebbie Jackson .

She said she could remember six years old and notice a framed photo of when Rebbie obtained her secondary school diploma.

"At that moment, this thought came to me: When I am tall, will I never be as pretty as Rebbie? "Jackson writes." This is what I hoped. I know that I really admired the beauty of my sister, but looking back, I can also see that by comparing myself to her, I felt inadequate. ""

She also writes that she remembered her out of words in her entirely white school: "Some children have done things that were not intended to be nasty, but they were funky and made me feel less than . I remember they wanted to touch my hair because it was not straight - it was different. "

She explains in the book that she now knows that being unique is important and something that everyone should appreciate themselves without making comparisons.

"At six, however, I had no idea my unique character," wrote Jackson. "All I knew was that my sister was the most beautiful woman in the world - and I never got closer to her beauty. At six, I already felt bad in my skin."


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