The youngest Jackson was on set in Atlanta last summer when she got word that her older brother and closest sibling, Michael, had passed in Beverly Hills, Calif., setting off an extended worldwide memorial to the King of Pop.
Back in Atlanta, the normally shy, whispery-voiced Janet vented with a vengeance. She took everyone by surprise and went totally volcanic during a key scene in Why Did I Get Married Too, taking her golf club and accidentally whacking director Tyler Perry in the leg, sending him to the medic (the part where Perry got hit was edited out, of course). When the movie was shown at the premiere, everyone, including the many celebrities in attendance, knew where the source of her emotional meltdown came from.
Prior to the press conference for the movie inside the Four Seasons Hotel in Midtown Manhattan, the throng of press were instructed that, under no certain terms, would anyone be permitted to ask Jackson anything about her personal life. Thankfully, Janet addressed the source of her inspired scenes right off the rip.
“It was very cathartic … I was just going through the passing of my brother [Michael], so it was therapy for me,” Janet said, adding that Perry was there for her as soon as the tragic news broke. “From the very beginning, as soon as I got the news, his name popped up in my phone. He came out to the set to be with me. And he was very supportive and I needed that at that time.”
The emotional twister tearing through Janet translated wonderfully on the screen, Perry said. “I was shocked [at her intensity]. The preparation was already there. She was gone. She was in the moment,” Perry added, not telling Janet that she hit him with the golf club until the premiere. “I didn’t even yell ‘cut’ because I wanted to see where she was going with it. I went to the medic afterwards.” –terry shropshire
