TJ Jackson’s Twitter mentions are in shambles after he opened the floodgates on a controversial topic: female artists’ expressions of sexuality.
The former 3T band member was in the middle of a thread about the importance of diversity when he responded to a since-deleted tweet.
“I love black women. I wish you would respect the black women we put in our music videos and if you are really serious about making a difference stop supporting the negative image many female black celebs today portray. WAP was not a good look. That deserves your energy,” he wrote.
From there, Twitter user @offthewallalbum reminded him of a steamy stage performance of his aunt, Janet Jackson. The viral clip showed Janet clad in a leather costume as she seductively danced and straddled a male fan who was strapped to a contraption that resembled a torture chamber device.
TJ reacted to the clip with, “I never liked when she did this in concerts either. I don’t like when females are overly sexualized in art…it degrades and objectify’s women in a way that’s not healthy. I prefer the ‘That’s The Way Love Goes’ Janet.”
When a user asked if maybe his perspective was skewed because of his familial ties to the pop icon, TJ responded, “Nah…I didn’t like it…it just diminishes her amazing talent.” When he responded to another person’s question about the double standards of sexual objectification of men and women, the second-generation Jackson doubled down on his stance.
“It’s unfair but men aren’t as objectified as women. Nevertheless to me it diminishes it and leads to other stereotypes. Vulgarity is not art to me…it’s more shock and awe and can lead to perceptions, and ever worse, role models that don’t help our advancement.”
When another person suggested that Michael Jackson was at times even more vulgar, TJ argued that “his videos never objectified women. That’s my issue.”
He later tweeted, “My aunt got a lot dirtier than my uncle.. lol but no help needed.:)”I’ve traveled and seen how black women are treated better outside the states. They are truly and rightfully celebrated more and I believe it has a lot to do with how we allow ourselves to be projected here.”
In the end, he concluded that he wants his daughters to grow up recognizing themselves as queens and to know that not all popular music video themes or the way some artists allow themselves to be portrayed are in alignment with his main objective.
As for Janet’s seductive tour performance, TJ did agree that she toed the line of decency while making lucky fans’ fantasies come true.
“And those dance moves at her concerts which is different than music videos with today’s top artists. Again this all started with me saying I don’t want my girls thinking WAP is their anthem. Some trolls misconstrued and ran with it. Oh well. That’s Twitter for you.”
Those who firmly disagree with TJ’s stance on when boundaries regarding provocativeness are crossed let him have it in the comments as they defended Janet. They wrote:
“I’m so tired of the respectability politics when it comes to black art forms that contains adult themes. It’s so tiring. Stop trying to make it seem like things are one dimensional. People will choose to demonize what they want… it’s just that simple.
“So we are trolls for holding you accountable for speaking about your aunt in such a way. You’re comparing your children to a very grown ICON! Don’t ever speak like that about Janet again. We are not gonna stand for that!
“I know you’re not trying to shame your own aunt, in public??!”
Janet Jackson is gearing up to head out on her “Together Again” tour, which kicks off on April 14 in Hollywood, Florida. She will stop in major cities like Atlanta, New York, and San Diego until her last performance in Seattle on June 21.
