Randy Jackson is speaking out about Janet Jackson’s marriage and why she’s divorcing Wissam Al Mana. Randy says his sister dealt with “verbal abuse,” felt like “a prisoner in her own home” during her marriage and is still dealing with harassment.
In an interview with People magazine, Randy says that Janet is going through a lot of pain and that her recent breakdowns onstage have a lot to do with her divorce.
“It was quite an abusive situation,” Randy alleged. “It came on later in the relationship, verbal abuse and being [made to feel like] a prisoner in her own home. No pregnant woman needs to go through being called a bitch every day. There were things like that. That’s what she went through.”
Randy isn’t the only one speaking out about Janet’s marriage. Janet’s creative director and best friend, Gil Duldulao, substantiated the claims on Twitter:
Randy, who lives in London near Janet, says he urged her to finally make up her mind as to how she was going to handle her marriage and the abuse.
“I told her, ‘You’ve got to move in with me or I’m going to go over there and there’s going to be hell.’ She was really pissed off. I told her, ‘I don’t care anymore. I’m tired of it. It’s too much,’” he said.
Janet, who is currently on her North American tour, broke down in tears during a performance in Houston last week, an incident that both Duldulao and Randy Jackson referenced.
“What you saw in Houston, it was her situation coming out, what she’s been going through,” Randy said. “The abuse is still going on. She has custody and he of course allowed her to bring the baby on tour, but it’s constant harassment. This tour almost didn’t happen, but by the grace of God, we’re here and we’re very prayerful.”
In a statement to People, Al Mana’s attorney said that Al Mana wasn’t going to “dignify these particular and deeply hurtful allegations with a response. The breakdown of his marriage to Janet Jackson is a cause of great sadness to Mr. Al Mana, and it is the well-being and privacy of their son, Eissa, that remains his sole focus.”