Janet Jackson’s emotional appearance on BET Awards
Part-time Atlantan Janet Jackson shocked the attendees at Sunday night’s BET Awards in Los Angeles by making a cameo appearance on stage late in the program.
Escorted by host Jamie Foxx, Michael Jackson’s little sister, dressed all in white, was clearly emotional as she addressed the crowd and viewers tuning in.
“My…my entire family wanted to be here tonight,” Jackson said, holding back tears. “But it was too painful. So they elected me to speak. To you, Michael was an icon. To us, Michael is family.”
“On behalf of my family, thank you so much. We miss him so much.”
Foxx and Atlanta singer Ne-Yo, with piano accompaniment, ended the telecast with a heartfelt duet rendition of the classic Jackson 5 hit, “I’ll Be There” as attendees in the audience cried and sang along.
Early Monday morning on the post-awards after party telecast on BET, Foxx conceded of Janet’s surprise appearance: “There were tears in my eyes. That brother-sister connection is a powerful thing.”
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June 29th, 2009
12:08 am
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Savvy
June 29th, 2009
12:35 am
The BET Awards was somewhat embarassing. Shock and awe.
Keily
June 29th, 2009
12:51 am
That was soooo sad, but so beautiful. You see how this family spent so long entertaining America. That appearance did absolutely nothing for her, it was for all those outside of her family mourning his loss. She could have stayed home, but she didn’t out of love for the fans. That makes you love that family even more.
Keepin it 100
June 29th, 2009
1:06 am
the 2009 BET AWARDS SUCK RIP TO THE KING OF POP
mylene bradley johnson
June 29th, 2009
1:10 am
michael jackson will truely be missed. he was a icon my heart goes out to the jackson family i no its hard right now and i can relate with mrs jackson because i lost a son july 20,2008 and it hurts, stay strong its hard right now but its a high hurdle to jump but god wont put no more on us than we can handle,god loves you and so does the world, we love you jackson family.
wanda perez
June 29th, 2009
2:23 am
joseph jackson showed absolutly no grief, he made me pychically sick! may michael rest in peace. ill missyou always
malika
June 29th, 2009
2:50 am
wanda, you are clearly showing your stupidity. just because you don’t see someone crying their eyes out means they aren’t grieving! that is the stupidest ish i’ve seen in a long time. the man just lost his son. if your child died, how easy do you think it would be to show up in front of thousands of people at an awards show and MILLIONS of viewers? he showed great strength and grace showing up. of course he’s grieving, he may even still be in shock. either way, shut your mouth and learn to be more respectful.
malika
NSeagle78
June 29th, 2009
2:53 am
Yea, Joe did suck, he looked worst than they potrayed him in the movie. Keith Oberman should make him the worst person in the world ever. The BET awards sucked also, if that is black then I must be another color such as off black. They should have pulled the comedian the minute Michael passed. Jamie started the show to foul and got worst from there. It looked more like a tribute to himself. I love you Michael, GOD SPEED.
sherry
June 29th, 2009
6:42 am
Enter your comments here
sherry
June 29th, 2009
6:44 am
Jamie Foxx’s showed no respect to Michael Jackson or his family. You would have never heard such nasty thing coming out of Michael’s mouth. Shame on you Jamie! And on the BET’s awards for allowing such disrespect. God Bless Micahael and the Jackson family.
Old School Woman
June 29th, 2009
6:48 am
I am an old school woman of virtue. I’ve enjoyed all types of music and dance all of my life. It is an “understatement” and “unbelievable” how taste-less and embarrassing the BET Awards show was last night. I’m 37 years old so I’m used to music with class and dignity from our people. I was so embarrassed to see a large alcoholic beverage on stage about blaming it on the alcohol, inappropriately dressed nubian goddesses with tatooes and boobs hanging out. Some of our recipients of awards (female) had to adjust and pull up their skimpy outfits before reaching the podium. I just don’t understand where the virtue, dignity, and self-respect has gone. BET should be better than what they allowed to be produced for the public eyes and ears. Every show I’ve seen, from the Latino Awards to Country Music Awards, OUR (African American, BET Awards) are always AWEFUL! DEGRADING! and TOTALLY RAUNCHY. I pray things get better for us in our presentation and self-respect. Eddie Levertt cursed on the air in respect to “Michael Jackson” with kids playing and having a good time during this video shoots… could there have not been a more embarrassing moment to have said that in front of MJ’s Father and Al Sharpton. I’m at a loss of words. Totally disappointing.
Lynn
June 29th, 2009
6:51 am
Janet was gracious, dignified, beautiful…she was everything the rest of the show was NOT.
RIP King of Pop.
Ashlie
June 29th, 2009
7:07 am
I’m glad she had the strength and courage to make the speech. At least she did it tastefully, unlike their father, who had the nerve to walk the red carpet AND sit in the audience!!
pb
June 29th, 2009
7:37 am
OSW….No No hell naw. If anyone understands truth and grief about this exact situation that would be Mr. Levert. He’s that way 100% percent of the time. Thats not a show of disrespect that how MJ knew him more than likely. U young folks crack me up with that political correctness BS. When u gonna stand up and be real all the time? That’s what should be on your mind!
Billy
June 29th, 2009
7:42 am
That was a last minute prep and it showed. It was horrible. There was no video montage of Michael and the visuals they showed when Foxx was signing in the end were only Michael in the Afro days. Most of these current day entertainers are so self centered. Ne-Yo was thanking everyone in the world yet forgot to mention Michael when he received his award. BET would have been better off just playing a video montage that encompassed the entire career of Michael. I have never heard of the Jackson 6 but there were s-i-x in the group that opened the show. Janet did well to get off that stage quickly and she was right, there is a vast difference from an Icon and family. So sad that all entertainers cannot think that way.
free
June 29th, 2009
7:44 am
Old School Woman, I agree with you. I shut it down and missed Janet Jackson’s speech but it was totally embarassing. From the commercials with Tiny and Lil Wayne’s ex-wife, to the coonery that was “Baby Boy” renactments, it was straight ignant, ghetto foolishness.
Ms.Johnson
June 29th, 2009
7:53 am
I am embarrased. I am 24 and there were parts of the night when I turned the channel. Debra Lee should be ashamed of how the show turned out. I feel like the proper thing would have been to have the show as planned and do a video montage, but then later on in the week, plan a tribute to Michael Jackson. They should have taken the time to really put an effort into it. It clearly showed that no one knew what was gong on. Why was Joe Jackson there in the first place? I kept asking that all night, he looked like he was having a great time, which was also inappropriate when you think about it. As for Jamie Foxx, man, you have won an Oscar and yet you talk like that? I was truly bothered by what he did and said. Janet was the only one who had class and grace. My heart broke when I saw her and she did all she could to keep it together. As for Tiny and Toya, a bunch of ghetto behind women, and I was embarrased to be from Atlanta looking at Tiny walk her behind up there poppin out of her dress. What was that they showed?? Lil Wayne had 12 year olds on stage while he is talking about f***ing every girl in the world? This is what we have become Black America? Wow, like I said, the whole show was a hot mess, a true hot mess!!!
Erica
June 29th, 2009
7:57 am
The show had its high and low moments. In theory, I liked the way that Michael was incorporated throughout the show. My heart broke for Janet Jackson and her father, as it seemed to take everything in Janet just to get through her thanks to her brother’s fans. For the person above who made the comments about Joe Jackson, understand that grief is a very individual emotion, and that not everyone shows grief in the same way. You have no idea what he may or may not have been feeling. Perhaps he was there out of appreciation for the love that was being shown to his son. I really don’t think it was the easiest thing for him to sit and see video after video, hear song after song, and not be affected.
Highs of the night for me were Beyonce’s rendition of Ave Maria (although I didn’t care for her outfit as much) and Neyo’s rendition of “Lady in My Life”. Lows…..Jamie Foxx’s rant on condom use and HIV testing (good point, bad joke) and some of the raunchy rap acts (can we say Li’l Wayne?????)
The show really brought home for me how much Michael Jackson’s lyrical and musical genius and classy showmanship will be SORELY missed and how sorry I feel for the new generation who will have NO ICON who even comes close to artists like the Jacksons, OJays, Temptations, Maze, Earth, Wind & Fire……
Rene'
June 29th, 2009
8:00 am
Janet Jackson is one of very few CLASS ACTS. I have always admired her and last nite she showed her strength as a classy woman does. May God continue to bless her and her family.
RIP Michael Jackson
Turd Ferguson
June 29th, 2009
8:06 am
Sounds as if I missed on helluva T&A show!!
malika
June 29th, 2009
8:08 am
On Facebook, a friend of mine stated that BET should have either pushed back the show to do something more honorary of Michael or they shouldn’t have changed it up the awards show for the extra performances and I agree. It was nearly 4 hours long. The only “real” celebrities there were (unfortunately) Beyonce and Jay-Z, Taraji, and Jamie. Most of the others were newcomers. I have to say though, I’m disappointed that more of the celebs that BET helped to make didn’t show up at least to do a worthy tribute to Michael. I understand that it was last minute, but Michael was there to show them how it was done, they could have flown to L.A. to help do a worthy tribute.
Janet was really strong to be there. I also think its stupid to speculate on the way Joe Jackson was acting. I had a grandparent pass away some years ago and I caught a lot of flack from my family for not grieving the way and at the times they wanted me to grieve. Joe Jackson has never been a very outwardly emotional person (unlike Katherine who has clearly been publicly absent) so to expect a show of waterworks from him now is pointless. Just because he isn’t bawling and just because he isn’t hiding doesn’t mean he isn’t grieving his son. Some people dance and sing when someone dies. That’s just how they cope. Why are people trying to be Joe’s judge and jury on how he acts about his son’s death?
If you really want to honor MJ, you’ll stop speculating on his family and leave them alone, just like Mike should have been left alone.
prisseme
June 29th, 2009
8:12 am
Janet was most gracious! I’m reading these comments about how terrible the BET awards show was-HELLO! people. The media is slandering Michael Jackson like a pig in a slaughter house-no mercy! At least BET & Debra Lee, HUDLIN tried to pay the RESPECT due to Michael and the Jackson family that he deserves! Sure there were areas to delete and improve, but BET made efforts to CELEBRATE, ACKNOWLEDGE and RESPECT Michael Jackson’s music, legacy and the Jackson Family! The Media is only concerned about drugs, money woes, debt, judicial issues and ll things negative. BIG UP2 BET 4 attempting to do the right thing and RESPECT the global icon Michael Jackson!
PW
June 29th, 2009
8:14 am
Janet was visibly shaken and I applaud her. Hopefully folks heard what she said. When MJ was here, he was a joke to you people. Oh you danced to his music and sang all of his songs but you could not understand that while he gave you his music and talent, he had a right to be respected.
Now onto BET. I am ashamed and shocked that Debra Lee allowed that mess up on the stage. I love Jamie Foxx but once you realized you were turning this into a tribute why weren’t the song selections better scrutinized. And at the end when Drake sang you allowed little girls on the stage, 10-12 years old, booty poppin’ while grown men strutted about talking about putting their d— into it!! Are you serious??? Why was the plug not pulled on that? BET as a network and Debra Lee personally, should be ashamed
Eyes
June 29th, 2009
8:15 am
She was great…………with what they are having to deal with. I think they did a good job on the show with the time they had to work with……………….RIP Micheal!
JIMMY
June 29th, 2009
8:15 am
I AM HIGHLY UPSET WITH BET, THEY SHOULD HAVE WAITED IF THEY WERE GONNA THROW TOGETHER SOME TRASH FOR THE KING OF POP, I HOPE MTV SHOW THEM UP, CHRIS BROWN SHOULD HAVE BEEN THERE, USHER, JUSTIN TIMBERLAKE. THE BEST PART OF THE NIGHT WAS WHEN JANET JACKSON WALKED OUT ON THE STAGE, SHE MADE ME CRY AND THE FANS WENT CRAZY OVER HER SHE HAS TRUE STAR POWER!! JANET IS SO CLASSY!! WHEN SHE STARTED TALKING I THOUGHT ABOUT HOW I USED TO SAY THAT JANET JACKSON IS THE FEMALE MICHAEL JACKSON, THEY TALK ALIKE, DANCE ALIKE, AND ENTERTAIN ALIKE, JANET AND MICHAEL WERE VERY VER CLOSE AND WE WILL MISS “THE KING OF POP” ALSO, THE JACKSONS JUST MAKE YOU FEEL LIKE YOU ARE A PART OF THEIR FAMILY!! RIP MICHAEL AND TO JANET AND THE JACKSON FAMILY STAY STRONG!! IT’S UP TO YOU JANET TO CARRY ON THAT IS WHAT MICHAEL WOULD HAVE WANTED!!
prisseme
June 29th, 2009
8:16 am
Beyonce was a mess in her white leotard singing a wedding/love song. If beyonce is the supposed icon everybody thinks she is she definetly should have been paying tribute to Michael Jackson through song and dance. Not by singing Ava Maria a love/wedding song. Beyonce was horrible! Neyo’s head was an atrocity, Keri Hilson and Ciara cannot sing, Mary Mary’s pants were too tight to be singing Christian music, Keri Hilson and Neyo need to stay behind the scene & keep writing music, New Edition sounded terrible but the J5 dance moves were on point, Maxwell should have ended the show. Jamie did good
malika
June 29th, 2009
8:18 am
I keep hearing that Usher should have been there, but in his defense, he’s working on something in France.
kinderbabe
June 29th, 2009
8:20 am
i feel for janet and her family. i’ve never lost a sibling or child and can’t imagine the pain they feel. it took a lot to address such a large crowd so soon. i wish the jackson family peace and healing during this time.
now, the BET awards….everyone summed up my mixed feelings about the show. it had it’s good and not so good points. overall, i enjoyed the decent performances and relevant tributes to MJ. the rest was garbage.
Charlie
June 29th, 2009
8:23 am
The best part of this show that was suppose to be a tribute to Michael Jackson the King of Pop was when his little sister walked on stage, i immediately started crying because i have never seen Janet so hurt, so sad, and Janet & Michael looks alike. She is a very very strong women like her mother. Janet we are here to support you and your family through these emotional times. RIP “Michael Jackson” I love you!
Jennifer
June 29th, 2009
8:25 am
Billy
June 29th, 2009
7:42 am
*I have never heard of the Jackson 6 but there were s-i-x in the group that opened the show. Janet did well to get off that stage quickly and she was right, there is a vast difference from an Icon and family.*
Just to let you know, New Edition did the opening tribute that’s why there were six. Their group was originally five, with Bobby replaced by Johnny Gill. When they do reunions, they try to have all six perform. In addition, the Jackson 5 had a member change when Jermaine left the group. Randy took his place.They then went to the title the Jacksons. So essentially all of the brothers were a part of the group. When they did their reunion shows all six brothers performed. Try and find the awards show from 2001 ( I believe). I think it’s the last time they performed together. I think the opening act was great and a great way to start the show.
Just a little history.
JESSICA
June 29th, 2009
8:25 am
I saw sadness in Janet’s eyes and it broke my heart. She was so beautiful last night. Her grief is so evident. I hope someone does a tribute to MJ that is befitting of his class and his music. MJ was not ghetto and that BET show did him no justice. I hope Essence Magazine puts on a classy tribute for him. He deserves it!
Ms. Lisa
June 29th, 2009
8:28 am
BET had the right intent but the WRONG delivery!!!!!!!!!!!I was deeply appalled, and at times disgusted with the presenters especially the host! Michael Jackson and his family represents Class, Integrity, Responsibility, Kindness and Love towards others.
Camille
June 29th, 2009
8:33 am
New Edition was horrible opening act. The only good thing about their act was the dancing. Michael Bivins sounded absolutely horrible. Ralph and Johnny were the only ones that sounded decent.
lovedbetawards
June 29th, 2009
8:34 am
I can’t believe the things that I am reading. I agree with a few things, like why did lil wayne have those lil girls ( i believe one of them was his oldest daughter with latoya) and Tiny. As far as Jamie Foxx Performance, the song is called blame it on the alcohol. What did you guys expect? It wasn’t a funeral. It was a tribute. And no one planned on Michael Jackson dying, no one wanted that. So considering the time they had, I think it was a great show. The Jackson family wasn’t embarrased. If that was the case, Janet would have not shown up. I enjoyed it. Jamie Foxx is a comedian and he kept the show alive. A lot of the skits did. Open your minds, we are not in the 1940’s
Tyree
June 29th, 2009
8:48 am
The first poster…selling TEE SHIRTS for personal gain should be ashamed. This is not a advertising blog. The AJC ahould remove it. Janet, are hearts are with you now.
Tyree
June 29th, 2009
8:52 am
my bad..typo…SHOULD remove it.
Happy
June 29th, 2009
8:57 am
Did Janet pull out her boobs like she did at the Superbowl?
Happy
June 29th, 2009
8:58 am
I honor of Michael Jacksons death, K-Mart is having a sale…All little boys pants are Half-off.
shay
June 29th, 2009
8:59 am
BET had basically 72 hours to pay tribute to a legendary icon. In no way, shape or form, could they have altered the performances they had already lined up for the show. Like someone said earlier, no on expected MJ to pass on Thursday. The show was to honor him but also keep the focus to on the other artist that have worked hard and were receiving awards and to also pay tribute to the Ojays. Jamie’s performance of “Blame it on the alcohol” was already scheduled along with several other performances that may not have seemed appropriate. Had they changed that, it would have really been a mess. Overall, I think they did a good job. There were some inappropriate moments, but overall, it went well. And please leave Jo alone. He is definitey griefing for his son. Trust me. Michael was his “baby”, just like the rest of his 8 kids. And just because he was celebrating the life of his son last night, instead of staying home to cry does not make him a bad person. Nor does it take away from his character. RIP Mike!
JCfromINDY
June 29th, 2009
8:59 am
I am throughly disappointed with BET “Black Exploited TV” As Bob Johnson has done for over 30 years, exploited black folks, now the new company will continue this bad illustration of black folks. Our ancestors must be rolling over in their graves. Black folks we have to do better. Thank you Janet for coming out.. I knew I loved the Jacksons for this reason…. She did the best that she could, being the youngest and probably closest to Michael. I wish we learn to be more classy. Last night was not about MJ it turned out to be an embarrasment to the entire race I wish Diane, Patti, EWF, Isley Brothers and some old school folks would have been there! God Bless the Jackson’s from one Indiana native to another! Michael, rest in peace my brother. The Lord givest and the Lord taketh away, blessed be the name of the Lord!
Tiffany
June 29th, 2009
9:03 am
All of you that are ranting about the show need to remember that this show was already planned for months and had to be changed at the last minute. Yes, I do agree that there were some parts that could have be done in better taste or not at all but cut them some slack. And those of you calling Janet a class act now, where the heck were you during the super bowl scandal. Many of you were ready to hang MY GIRL on a cross and stone her.
Dr Funkenstein
June 29th, 2009
9:07 am
**MEDICAL ALERT**
It has come the attention of the medical community that Michael Jacksons death was the result of choking on a 5 year old Weiner.
Norvee Michelle
June 29th, 2009
9:09 am
As a true MJ fan, I greatly appreciated BET rearranging the show to pay tribute to a musical legend. I know this is an especially difficult time for the Jackson family so it was very nice to see Janet and Joe speak with the fans. I was upset with TI’s camp however, because every other person who spoke gave some sort of tribue to MJ through song or speech. Tiny was classless and disrespectful to say TI “was still the King”. TI is not dead, he made a mistake and is paying for it. We’ll see him again in less than a year. MJ is not going to return. I think she could have taken 30 seconds to say something. That was just plain rude.
Ed
June 29th, 2009
9:13 am
BET has no sense of the words respect and dencency. Viacom Chairman and CEO Sunmer Redstone should fire who ever is running BET. It is sad to see the majority of rappers and R&B artists have no class and dencency. I dont understand why most of these people just dont get it. The world was watching what was suppose to be a tribute to Michael Jackson and it turned out to be a complete mess. I was appalled, embarrassed and disppointed. I am sadden to see black people are constantly being represented by such negative behaviors. I hope they will find some sense of reasoning and not replay the show. The show is rated R, adult content with profanity and sexually explict performances
shay
June 29th, 2009
9:14 am
Norvee, asking Tiny to have to have some class is expecting too much. She couldn’t even deliver two lines for TI, let alone pay tribute to anyone. It was best she kept it short and sat back down. She is a true embarrassment and I still don’t see what the attraction was to her.
Tiffany
June 29th, 2009
9:14 am
For those of you that are criticizing Jo remember that he is the head of this family. In the wake of great tragedy it is his responsibility put on a brave face for the rest of the family. Until you have lost a child don’t judge him.
Please
June 29th, 2009
9:17 am
You guys are a mess. Everyone is so critical of BET, but at least they did something and tried to keep it positive. It was not a Michael Jackson tribute show, it was the BET award show where they tried, at the last minute, to incorporate a tribute to MJ. I think they did an admirable job considering the amount of time they had to put the changes together. If they had it to do over, I’m sure they would have made a few changes (i.e. Don Cornelius, little girls on stage with rappers, etc…), but I think overall, BET deserves some credit for trying to pull off what was a difficult task.
Cheryl
June 29th, 2009
9:17 am
Happy you are an idiot!
The BET show was not what I expected. All over CNN and the internet there were reports that BET was honoring Michael. Jamie Foxx was a disgrace. I agree with the posters that BET shouldve just had a video montage and left it at that and did a tribute show later.
I felt so bad for Janet. RIP Mike.
shay
June 29th, 2009
9:18 am
I agree Tif, it took all the strength in the world for Joe to sit there for nearly 4 hours and listen to his son’s songs being played and flashed before his eyes. That took courage and he represented the Jackson family well.
Happy
June 29th, 2009
9:20 am
When will Janet be appearing Nude in Hustler with a life size Michael Jackson love-doll?