Janet Jackson Takes Control in The First Trailer for Upcoming ‘JANET’ Documentary



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Janet Jackson attends the Pre-GRAMMY Gala.Janet Jackson attends the Pre-GRAMMY Gala.

Photo by Axelle Bauer-Griffin for FilmMagic via Getty Images.

A four-hour Janet Jackson documentary will premiere at the top of next year.

A&E has announced a new Janet Jackson documentary with heavy involvement from the r&b icon.

Aptly titled JANET, the four-hour doc is executive produced by its subject and former American Idol judge, Randy Jackson (no relation.) The first of two parts will premiere in January of next year. And today, the network unveiled a teaser for the project with plenty of familiar faces and recent interviews with contemporaries, including Missy Elliott, Mariah Carey, and Paula Abdul. The trailer also features plenty of archival footage from the Jackson family vault, including clips of Michael Jackson, Joe Jackson, and Tupac Shakur. Per the doc’s IMDB page, Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis will appear in the doc along with a number of Jackson’s former collaborators. “This is my story, told by me, not through someone else’s eyes. This is the truth, take it or leave it, love it or hate it. This is me,” Jackson says at the close of the trailer scored by her hit “Control.”

One of the most decorated artists of her generation (who even outpaced big bro for a stretch of the late-80s and early-90s,) Jackson’s career has been marked by skyscraping highs and cavernous lows. In 2004, her track was derailed by a controversial performance with Justin Timberlake that had an outsized impact on the Velvet Rope artist. Earlier this year, as he was catching heat for his role in tanking Britney Spears’ career, Timberlake apologized to Jackson in a statement posted to Instagram. “The industry is flawed. It sets men, especially white men, up for success. It’s designed this way. As a man in a privileged position I have to be vocal about this. Because of my ignorance, I didn’t recognize it for all that it was while it was happening in my own life but I do not want to ever benefit from others being pulled down again, Timberlake wrote.

Watch the first trailer for the upcoming Janet Jackson documentary below. Hold tight for a firm release date and a proper trailer to arrive in the weeks ahead.