‘I Didn’t Have to Pay, Mike Did’: Janet Jackson Reflects on Extended Days of Filming Bolstered a $7M Tab for Her and Michael Jackson’s 1995 ‘Scream’ Video
Janet Jackson has a catalog of iconic records and music videos, but none quite as expensive as her collaboration with her brother Michael Jackson.
In 1995 the powerhouse sibling duo teamed up for the King of Pop’s record “Scream” that was accompanied by one of the most popular and costly music videos of both Michael and Janet’s careers. The video, which was shot in black-and-white and featured a futuristic theme, placed Janet and Michael side by side for dance sequences with gravity-defying camera tricks.
In a Dec. 17 video interview with Allure magazine about some of her beauty and fashion trends throughout her career, Janet reflected on the making of the only music video she and Michael shot together. “It was supposed to only be like a two-day shoot. It wound up being seven days. Yeah, it was a $7 million video — I didn’t have to pay, Mike did,” revealed Janet with a laugh.
“It was fun getting in the studio and dancing together, because we hadn’t done that since I was kid,” she continued. “We used to dance together all the time, that was a great deal of fun.”
In 2009 at the age of 50 Michael unexpectedly passed. Janet payed tribute to him that year by performing in his honor at the MTV Video Music Awards. Ahead of the tribute, which saw Janet show off some of her brother’s most memorable choreography moments, including those from the “Scream” video, she recalled the whirlwind surrounding Michael life’s at the time of the record.
“‘Scream,’ there was so much going on at that time,” she told MTV in the September 2009 interview. “That’s when the — I hate to say this, but — the first allegations [of child molestation] came out and the whole bit. He was very upset and very angry and he had so much pent up in him that he wanted to get out and say. And when you listen to the lyrics, that’s what it’s about.”
But as his younger sister, the record carries a separate and special meaning. “I played the role that I’ve always played in his life: his little sister that was there by his side, that had his back no matter what. That’s what ‘Scream’ was for me.”
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