The rumor mill is buzzing after Jermaine Dupri joined Janet Jackson onstage during her “Together Again” tour stop in Atlanta on Wednesday night. Their reunion has fans believing they might not be the only 2000s couple taking another spin around the block like Ashanti and Nelly appear to be.
Clips of the music producer on stage, while Jackson performs, has fans questioning whether or not the two are rekindling their relationship.
Audience members captured videos of Jackson and Dupri singing their collaboration “Do It 2 Me” at the State Farm Arena, and the circulated clip had many fans wondering if the two were going to get back together.
One person joked, “The Ex’s are getting back TOGETHERRRRRE. Not me and mine though but I’m happy for them.”
Another said, “First nelly n Ashanti !!!! Everybody spinning the block !!!! I knew I was on to something,” referring to clips of Ashanti and Nelly holding hands and sitting next to each other at a boxing match last weekend.
But a third fan found another 2000s couple that may be the cause of this pattern of former couples getting back together. “JLO and Ben starting something,” they wrote. A fourth added, “Janet Jackson and Jermaine Dupri should try it again.”
Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck first began dating in 2002 and were even engaged before calling it quits in 2004. However, in 2021 the two found their way back together and were married in Las Vegas by June 2022.
As for Dupri and Jackson, their performance on stage doesn’t confirm anything about whether they are rekindling their romance or not — its really just wishful thinking from fans.
The “Control” singer and Dupri’s also started dating back in 2002. On T.I.’s “ExpediTIously” podcast in 2020, Dupri told the rapper that he initially met Jackson at one of her concerns while he was with the rap duo Kriss Kross. He said her bodyguard initially wouldn’t let him backstage but eventually, he was given access.
He also revealed that he and Jackson had the same stylist at the time and that he would send messages to Jackson through that stylist, and she would send messages back to him. After talking a bit, they eventually hung out and got closer.
He said, “I knew multiple other people, her friends, and she seen me doing other projects … So we became friends, I guess you wanna call it, I took my shot.”
The pair began talking even more after Dupri got her a pager. He later threw Jackson a birthday party in Miami but things really clicked after she visited him in Atlanta.
Dupri was also a guest star on the four-part Janet Jackson documentary, which came out last year on A&E. He talked about not only working with her musically and revealed that he was unfaithful to the pop star, which was just one of the reasons they broke up.
“One of the weird things about dating Janet is that dating Janet attracts other women,” said the 50-year-old. “Girls wanted to talk to me more because I was dating her, which was really weird … and, uhh, just … I was a man.”
The “Why Did I Get Married” star added that Dupri was not good at prioritizing his time with her and instead was always focused on work.
“He was a workaholic,” Jackson said during the docuseries. “And he was constantly working. I would not see him for like three weeks, a month. And as soon as he would come in, he would go to the club. And it’s like carve out just a little time for me and it was hard for him to do. His girlfriend was his work.”
Jackson and Dupri’s relationship lasted for about seven years before they called it quits. Jackson went on to marry Wissam Al Mana, and gave birth to their son Eissa in 2017. They split later that year.
