Janet Jackson REVEALED She Wanted To Be A Law Student Rather Than A Performing Artist.***

Janet Jackson Doesn’t ‘Ever Remember Being Asked’ If She Wanted to Be a Child Star: ‘I Just Remember Doing It’

Janet recalled wanting to attend “college and study business law” before her father, Joe, encouraged her to become a performer

Janet Jackson in 1978; Janet Jackson in 2024. Photo: Michael Ochs Archives/Getty; Dave Benett/Getty

Did Janet Jackson want to become a child star?

In a new interview with the BBC, the 58-year-old Grammy winner recalled the moment her father, Joe Jackson, decided she would become a singer — explaining that she didn’t necessarily have a say in the matter.

The “Control” musician spoke about creating her first song, “Fantasy,” at age 9 at the Jackson family’s Encino, California, home recording studio after her brothers returned from tour in 1975. “I laid down the drum track, I did the background vocals, I sang and I played everything on it,” she explained.

Michael Jackson and Janet Jackson in Los Angeles in July 1978.Michael Ochs Archives/Getty

A day later, Janet heard the song playing as she returned home from school. “I was so embarrassed. The studio door was open and Mike was listening to it,” she said, referring to her late brother, Michael. “I think Randy was listening to it, my father was listening.”

“Then my father said, ‘You’re gonna sing,'” she remembered. “I said, ‘No, no, no, I want to go to the college and study business law.”

Joe was insistent on a path in entertainment for Janet, who felt “it was kind of hard to argue” against his wishes considering “where he led my brothers,” she told the BBC. “So I said, ‘OK, I’ll give it a go.'”

Janet Jackson. Soul Train via Getty

Janet soon began performing live with her sisters, before landing her first TV acting role on Good Times in 1977. She released her debut self-titled album in 1982, followed by Dream Street two years later, before her breakthrough album, Control, came out in 1982 — which propelled her to global fame.

Today, the “Nasty” performer is ready to take a step back from certain areas of the entertainment industry. During a recent appearance on the radio program Heart Evenings with Dev Griffin, Janet revealed she doesn’t like giving interviews — or being asked questions at all.

The host asked if there’s one particular question she’s sick of reporters asking her after a lifetime in the spotlight, and Janet replied, “I don’t mean to be rude, but I have to be honest with you. Please stop asking me questions.”

She added, “I’ve never thought I give a good interview. I really don’t like speaking, so I’d rather stay quiet and listen to other people talk, and that’s always been me.”

“Don’t ask me questions,” added Janet with a smile on her face, appearing to make a slight joke. “Are we finished?”

Currently, the “All for You” performer is in the midst of her Together Again Tour’s second North American leg, which continues through July 30. She’ll then head to Europe in September for a string of shows through Oct. 13.