For years now there have been rumors that Janet Jackson had a secret child with her former husband, singer James DeBarge, but for most of that time, both celebs remained silent on the issue, letting the rumors subside into little more than an urban legend. However, earlier this year, DeBarge came forward and claimed that he and Jackson indeed had a daughter together. Now, he’s opened up again about their alleged daughter in a new TV clip.
As previously reported, back in May, DeBarge claimed in an interview that a woman contacted him and claimed to be his daughter with Jackson, with whom he eloped in 1984 before their marriage was annulled in 1985.
“Someone had contacted me. She spoke to me by email,” he said. “The first time was two years ago. I have not been able to directly see her face-to-face.”
DeBarge claimed that the woman says Jackson had her in secrecy and that she was given up for adoption not long after her birth. DeBarge said the woman was angry that someone else was claiming to be their child and that she revealed intimate details that only someone close to the situation would’ve known about him and Jackson.
“She described as much as she could tell me because she was very fearful at the time,” he continued. “She was very angry about people running with this story about this [other child] being my baby. She got very angry. She’s like, ‘Papa I want to help you out.’ She had so much of personality and she was so accurate with everything she was saying, it was only things that I and Janet know. No one else but God, me and Janet.”
Since DeBarge’s initial claims, attention on him has died down a bit as fans learned that Jackson, who is now 50, is pregnant with her first child with her husband, Wissam Al Mana.
However, DeBarge is back in the headlines this weekend thanks to a new clip from “Growing Up Hip Hop” in which his adult daughter, Kristinia, confronts him about his allegations that he has a daughter with Jackson.
“I’m tired of the secrecy,” DeBarge said in response to Kristinia confronting him. “I’m tired of the truth not coming forward and people being a coward when it comes to it. And I thought it was wise for me to speak out now because it needs to be addressed. To be honest with you, I didn’t know. I was under the impression that there was no baby, and I wanted to believe it’s not true. But it is.”
What do you think of DeBarge’s claims? Let us know in the comments.
