What is with all of the splits of supposedly strong couples lately? It’s getting weird in here. The latest long-standing couple to call it quits is Janet Jackson and Jermaine Dupri. They’ve been together for seven years! Is that right? That would mean they got together sometime in 2002. I guess they have been together for a while… and I just didn’t realize it because Janet always keeps her private business private. Sidenote: This is also why she’d be a great guardian for Michael Jackson’s kids. Anyway, the only reason we know about Janet and Jermaine’s split is because his friends are talking. Thankfully those friends aren’t talking trash – they say that Janet and Jermaine simply split because they’ve been “moving in different directions for a while.”
On July 7, Michael Jackson’s family gathered to celebrate him at his much-watched memorial service.
Noticeably absent? Janet Jackson’s longtime music-exec boyfriend, Jermaine Dupri. (A pal says Dupri skipped the memorial because he “doesn’t attend funerals.”)
And for good reason. “His friends are telling people it’s over,” a source tells Us Weekly.
Echoes another: “They have been moving in different directions for a while.”
So what drove Jackson, 43, and Dupri, 36, apart after nearly seven years? “You shouldn’t mix business with pleasure,” a mutual pal explains. (Dupri produced several tracks on her last two CDs.) “Janet felt their lives were too crossed and they should have kept things separate.”
Plus, the polar opposites were never too compatible. “Jermaine likes to be out there, mingling with everybody, and Janet’s more shy.” (And secretive: She kept her nine-year marriage to Rene Elizondo hidden until their 2000 divorce.)
Meanwhile, Jackson is still deeply mourning the death of her big brother.
“She’s devastated,” an insider says. “She’s busy caring for Michael’s kids. Janet’s the family’s backbone.”
Jackson’s rep couldn’t be reached.
[From US Weekly]
I get that maybe Janet and Jermaine were having problems before Michael died, but it still seems rough to deal with a relationship ending, while you’re in the process of grieving your brother. I could be totally off-base on that though – it’s perfectly possible, even likely, that Janet did the dumping. If my boyfriend wouldn’t attend my brother’s funeral just because “he doesn’t attend funerals”, I might see that as one of those big, blaring signals that the guy’s not in it for the long haul. That being said, seven years is a long time in Hollywood, so I give them credit for that. Maybe they broke up and really will remain friends. Maybe Janet’s priorities shifted radically in a very short time now that she might be a contender to be Michael’s kids’ guardian.
Janet Jackson and Jermaine Dupri are shown at the John Paul Gaultier Haute Couture runway show in Paris on 7/2/08 Credit: ANG/Fame Pictures
I guess that’s because he only wants to go places where he can puke in her lap with abandon. A funeral ain’t it.
Show a little respect, Bill Hicks. You just lost my God vote with that insensitive comment.
That’s awful. I feel sorry for janet, i really love her and i believe she’s a great person. This must be a very difficult time for her. Lost her brother and her marriage almost in the same month!? Woooouuu! How much can a person take? But i also believe the problems Janet and Dupri were facing were not from yesterday or last week. They must been thinking spliting up for a long time. But also, i’m confused with one thing: Dupri didn’t attend MJ’s funeral?
If that’s true, then he don’t deserve Janet at all.
Ps- That was a kind of news that i wasn’t expecting today.
I’m with Bill Hicks!
Maybe she’s still pissed that her album “Damita Jo” was a flop but he re-energized Mariah’s career with “The Emancipation of Mimi”.;) Yeap – No Wonder You shouldn’t mix business with pleasure!!
Did the article state they were married? Even still, what a huge thing to have to deal with, especially with something as huge as loosing your brother in the same time frame.
Janet generally seems like a decent person.
no they were not married. she was divorced 2 years before getting with JD
Rumors were that they broke up before MJ passed. They were out there right after the pics of the Janet Tatto came out.
The one thing that seems to ring the MOST true in this story is the part about him wanting to be out and about and her being more shy and reserved. He’s pushing 40 and still determined to be at every party, every club, everywhere getting drunk and what-not. She’s never come across as a party girl. But even if she was at some point, she’s probably past that now.
I would love to see her date Tyler Perry next. They’d probably be great together.
Yea, Shay.
I heard that they broke up before MJ passed, but reconciled in the wake of the tragedy. I’m not suprised to hear it’s over.
I think working together was a big mistake. JD’s style doesn’t mesh well with Janet’s. I think “The Velvet Rope”, which was hugely successful, is the kind of vibe she should be going for.
I understand how they made this mistake, Janet’s ex-husband Renee produced Velvet Rope and her album Janet. I think her music was much better back then.
Whichever direction she goes, she should work with producers that she jives well with.
I’d like to see her with someone low-key. Maybe pull a Halle Berry and get herself a young hot model.
I think Janet isn’t looking for a young, hot model (though I would be in her shoes). She seems like a really down-to-earth, grounded person (and gorgeous, too) but because of her high profile, it must be super-difficult to find a true love match. I wish it for her, though. She has always been my favorite Jackson. I didn’t even begrudge her Nipple-Gate (a real tempest in a teapot). I do hope she gets the children because she’s really the only suitable one to have them (I don’t know much about Rebbie).
Just last week there was a report they had gotten back together after MJ died and Janet would have fallen apart if not for JD,who “stepped up” to hold her together. It was a few weeks before that a few other blogs claimed they had split.
Eh, the “not attending the funeral is a bad sign” thing is an odd observation. A lot of people don’t do funerals. At all. I surely don’t. I don’t care who it’s for, I will not attend one. I think they’re absolutely absurd.
Actually, Amanda—the funeral thing isn’t odd at all; going to a funeral with your significant other is VERY important. It’s about being there for someone during their worst times, no matter how you might feel. It’s about respecting someone you love and THEIR needs more than your own. Get it?
Don’t judge someone because they don’t attend funerals. It’s kind of like judging someone for their religious beliefs or lack there of. Some peoples beliefs prevent them from respecting traditions like funerals and wakes. Others, like myself, simply cannot hold it together at these types of things. I fall apart at the first note of Amazing Grace even if I’m not at a funeral!!! I really wish I could muster up the strength to attend more of these things but I really do reserve the urge unless it is immediate family and it was THERE wishes that I attend, not sure that would have been the case with MJ and JD. Odd as it may seem, I know a lot of people in their 30’s and 40’s who have NEVER had to attend a wake or funeral and wouldn’t know what to do if they did.
Maybe all the reports are true that Janet Jackson might be considering to become the guardian of MJ’s three kids and perhaps Jermaine did not want be part of it. Some men are not interested in raising someone else’s kids. Similar to what happened to Angelina Jolie and Billy Bob when she adopted Maddox.
YouTube has some clips of The Jackson Variety show from way back. Janet was adorable, even more than Michael. Betty White, Sonny Bono and Carol O’Connor were guests on that show. The skits were stupid but MJ’s talent was literally “off the wall”. Marlon was really attractive then, too. Just deal with the 70’s jogging suits in the beginning. Memories.
“… A lot of people don’t do funerals. At all. I surely don’t. I don’t care who it’s for, I will not attend one. I think they’re absolutely absurd.
Amanda: I hope most of your relatives and friends don’t share the same opinion as you, cause if they do, when you’re death, i don’t think you should be able to put yourself inside of a casket and close it. You gonna need help, right?
So think about it before writing statements like that.
he is an ugly lil troll. looks like a tool too. good riddance.
I don’t know what events, beliefs or oppositions would drive a person not to attend, so I won’t speculate.
I’m not sure if I agree with the comparison between funeral attendance and religiousity. The latter is based on a system of beliefs, practices and dogma to which the individual must subscribe and maintain. It dictates the manner in which the individual sees himself as a part of, and as a separate entity from his society.
Though there can be moments of levity and sweetness in the remembrance, I don’t know the person who actively enjoys funerals. I’m sure that something must have been discussed by them prior to the event. And it’s also likely that at some point in the last seven years, the subject of an anti-funeral stance must have been broached. Which is to say, if the topic had never been brought up, I would want to know why the man in my life–with whom I had spent the greater part of a decade– wouldn’t be there.
But I’ve never heard rumours that defamed his character before, so I’m sure that he has been there for her in other ways. And if it is true that they had split before the funeral, well, funerals are awkward because of who shows up, and funerals are awkward because of who doesn’t show up.
As far as the children go, I can’t fault him for that. As it’s looking likely that Janet will be taking her these kids, Jermaine must have known that it’s a ‘now or never’ situation.
If he had any trepidation about suddenly having three children, it’s absolutely the best choice to exit before the connections between him and the kids gets stronger. I know what it’s like to have relatives or loved ones pass, and I know what it’s like to have a father walk out on you. In a way, there’s more solace in death, because that means that the person didn’t make the active choice in departing. I tell ya, it really has a way of creating deep self-loathing, and an almost obsessive level of trust and abandonment issues. When you’re young like that, and have the presence of mind, or the coping mechanisms to take a clear-eyed view of things, it feels as though your value, your legitimacy as a person, your right or ability to have lasting unconditional love is entirely negated.
And no kid needs that.
not a comment on the split per se, I don’t even know much about them, and the MJ funeral is being overdone…. , but the non-attendance. So you don’t “do” funerals for whatever reason….however IF the person you are with/care about does, and in particular if they are mourning the loss of a close family member, as far as i’m concerned suck it up and be there for someone you care about.
“yeah, i’m sorry, but I don’t DO funerals, but you go bury your sibling darlin, i’ll be here when you get back”, wouldn’t fly with me.
Hopefully the split is because Janet is taking the children
I think Janet would be the perfect person to raise Michael’s kids.
it must be hard time for Janet, I wish her all the best
He looks like he’s taking a dump. Will someone please tell him to hike his pants up??
In the photos, she looks absolutely chocolatey delicious and graceful, and he looks like a sullen, dum-dum little kid that has to hold on to his silly oversized clown pants when he stands up and tries to walk without his shoes tied. Disrespecting his longtime ex is just in poor taste and straight up rude. Learn to suck it up like a grown man, pee-wee. There’s birth, taxes and death. Three basic things nobody can change. At least learn to suck it up like a grown man – pee-wee!
Denzel doesn’t wear HIS pants pulled down like a prison man-bait appetizer. Because he has class.
I think that Janet is positioning herself to become the parent of those children. Her priorities shifted overnight.
“Don’t judge someone because they don’t attend funerals”
Well, I think it is fair to do so to an extent. No one likes going to funerals (except weirdos). They aren’t fun. They represent the loss of someone that you presumably cared about or loved and it hurts.
So, if someone I love dies and my husband refused to show his support and be there with me and for me at the funeral, then yes-I would be extremely hurt and would see him in a negative light. Not liking funerals is not an excuse for doing your duty–not to the deceased, who is gone and doesn’t care anymore–but to the people you love who are hurting and need your support.
By refusing to attend MJ’s funeral he basically told Janet that his own personal momentary discomfort was more important than being a loving, supportive, source of strength for her in one of her darkest moments.
It’s when the chips are down and we are going through our worst experiences that we find out who we can count on. He’s proven that he can be counted on to show up at a party, but not to be there when it counts.
So, yes, it is perfectly valid to judge someone for refusing to attend a funeral. It goes to showing his character, or lack thereof. This man lacks substance and Janet is clearly better of without him. She deserves a REAL man.
“A lot of people don’t do funerals. At all. I surely don’t. I don’t care who it’s for, I will not attend one. I think they’re absolutely absurd.”
Really? What part is absurd? That people grieve when they lose a loved one? Or that they might think of you as someone to turn to for support and comfort?
What a selfish and self-centered attitude. I can understand a child not knowing any better, but an adult with your attitude just has something wrong with them.