Music icon Janet Jackson, 51, broke down on stage in Houston on Saturday night following an emotional performance of her 1997 song, What About. As revealed in video posted to You Tube, Janet, who is currently on her State of the World Tour, confessed through tears to a crowd of thousands just how much she related to the song saying, “This is me.” The lyrics tell the story of a woman suffering from domestic abuse. The 51-year-old’s confession has fans speculating about just how bad her marriage to Qatari businessman Wissam Al Mana was.
Janet and her ex have been embroiled in a nasty divorce for months. Custody of their son, Eissa Al Mana, 8 months, has been a central issue to the couple’s bitter court battle. A source previously told Star that originally when the Rhythm Nation singer said she wanted to bring Eissa on tour with her, Wissam refused to sign off on the arrangement. The source went on to reveal that Janet was so distraught that she offered to forgo a huge divorce settlement in exchange for custody of the baby. In the end, Janet was permitted to bring Eissa with her.
Billionaire Wissam, 42 is Janet’s third husband. The singer reportedly signed a pre-nup before their 2012 marriage that would entitle her to upwards of 200 million dollars should the couple split. Janet herself is estimated to be worth about 150 million and while friends allegedly have discouraged her from giving up Wissam’s cash settlement, she isn’t worried because she’s banking on earning her own money once she gets back to recording.
The Nasty singer had significantly toned down her appearance and her performance style, supposedly because Wissam disapproved. In October of 2016 Janet was seen wearing head to toe billowing black clothes, sparking rumors that she’d converted to Islaam to appease Wissam. By April of 2016 Janet had reportedly grown tired of Wissam’s controlling ways and made the difficult decision to split.
In light of Janet’s tearful break down and on stage confession Friday, it’s possible that Wissam’s oppressive nature and the couple’s vast cultural differences weren’t the only issues that led up to the singer’s decision to divorce. Fans who witnessed Janet’s outpouring of emotion at her Houston show were extremely supportive and have taken to social media to continue to boost the Control singer’s spirits.
