Jackson’s Lifetime documentary has everyone going back down memory lane. One thing is ever apparent, Janet Jackson is a legend and shall always be treated and respected as such. Now that that fact is out of the way, it appears that everyone else is either catching or rekindling the wave. However, a once pivotal part of Janet’s life, Jermaine Dupri, is catching some severe heat from Black Twitter for his role in breaking their relationship up.
Someone with such beauty as Janet Damita Jo Jackson can have any man she wants. At least, that’s what her adoring #JanFam believes wholeheartedly. But in 2002, many fans questioned the entry of super-producer Jermaine Dupri’s intimate entrance into her Rhythm Nation. Janet Jackson and Jermaine Dupri dated from 2002 until 2009. Dupri handled production duties throughout their relationship for much of her 2006 20 Y.O. album and its 2008 follow-up, Discipline. As a result, the love affair between the seemingly unlikely pair became one of Jackson’s longest known relationships.
Previously, Dupri spoke about how their relationship began on T.I.’s podcast ExpediTIously. According to Dupri, he was able to “expose” Janet Jackson to various experiences, such as her first trip to a strip club (Magic City in Atlanta) and other things. But infidelity and other factors would cause their relationship to fail. However, the two have remained very close friends for the years that followed their split.
“You always need a Janet Jackson in your life,” said the Welcome to Atlanta rapper in the two-part, four-hour documentary. “She’s a one-of-one, iconic triple threat.” Of course, Dupri has continuously showered his ex-lover with praises over the years, so this statement aligns with his usual sentiments.
Within the documentary, Janet Jackson addresses her relationship with Jermaine Dupri. Jackson’s explanation to producers was that she heard that “he was cheating.” Dupri, in turn, confessed that he was unable to juggle the newfound attention he was receiving from various women due to his being with the worldwide superstar. Thus, the producer became “reckless.”
When this bit appeared on the documentary, social media (specifically, Black Twitter) relentlessly trolled Dupri for cheating on whom he labeled “one of the sexiest women in the world.” One Twitter user wrote, “Jermaine Dupri Verzuz gotta be against common sense because man alive. Make it make sense. Top 5 fumble, easy.” The user refers to Jermaine Dupri’s hopefully impending Verzuz battle while likening his cheating on Janet as one of the top five screw-ups in history.
Jermaine Dupri Verzuz gotta be against common sense because man alive. Make it make sense. Top 5 fumble, easy. pic.twitter.com/LtO5ZezepU
— A Phizer A (@Aqua174) January 30, 2022
Temple University and acclaimed television personality Marc Lamont Hill also could not withhold his shock upon learning about the infraction. “I just learned that Jermaine Dupri and Janet Jackson broke up because Jermaine was cheating. N****A…” he tweeted in disbelief. In response, another Twitter user agreed with Hill stating that Dupri “set us back.”
One woman wrote on social media that all men have one thing in common, and that is “audacity.” Another wrote, “Jermaine Dupri is a bonafide fool. Your answer for cheating on Janet Jackson is that ‘I’m a Man.’ Like that automatically absolves you of your wrongdoing. Men really need to get it together. That mindset is toxic & childish.”
Oddly enough, Jermaine Dupri recently had an interview with Ryan Cameron Uncensored that Jackson issued a warning, which he called a “crazy statement,” to him before they dated. According to Dupri, Janet Jackson reminded him that she has six brothers, in case he treated her wrong. Reminding him that there was “nothing” that he could tell her that she hadn’t already heard, she said, “So make sure you think about what you say before you say it because I done heard it all.”
Jermaine Dupri also previously spoke about his split with Jackson on T.I.’s podcast, admitting that he felt marriage wouldn’t work for him. The producer also shared that he was living in Atlanta at the time while she was living in Los Angeles, and neither was willing to relocate.
Jackson seemed to mirror Dupri’s previous comments on her documentary. When speaking on their breakup, the “Made For Now” singer labeled her ex a “work-a-holic,” would often go to the club, and claimed he would barely make time for her. “It was hard for him to do,” she said. “His girlfriend was his work.”
