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David Bowie offered drugs to a young Michael Jackson, Randy Jackson claims in Janet documentary

Alleged incident occurred in the early Seventies when Jackson would have been 12 to 15 years old

Annabel Nugent
Friday 28 January 2022 10:46 GMT
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Janet Jackson documentary ‘Janet’ trailer

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Michael Jackson’s brother Randy has claimed that David Bowie once offered them drugs when they were young.

Randy is the younger brother of Michael Jackson and replaced his older brother Jermaine in The Jackson 5 in 1975.

Randy made the claims in forthcoming documentary Janet, which was made by his sister, Grammy award-winning artist Janet Jackson.

As per The New York Post, the alleged encounter took place in the early Seventies at the Jackson’s Los Angeles home where the family regularly hosted stars, including Diana Ross, Marvin Gaye, and Sammy Davis Jr.

Randy said: “I remember one of the parties that we had, [David] Bowie came. And I guess to get away from everyone, he was looking for a little room.”

He continued: “Michael and I are sitting in one of the other rooms away from the party. So, Bowie walks in and… he offered us some of what he was doing to get high.

“We just looked at each other. We were like, ‘No.’ We didn’t know what it was, but it was like, ‘Nah, no thank you.’”

The Independent has contacted a representative of Bowie’s estate for comment.

Michael Jackson during his 1996 Brit Awards performance
Michael Jackson during his 1996 Brit Awards performance (Richard Young/Shutterstock)

During part one of the documentary, Jackson revealed that her late brother Michael used to fat-shame her, calling her a “pig” and “slaughter hog”.

In part two, the Grammy-winner also shut down the rumours that she had a “secret baby” with her first husband, James DeBarge.

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Filmed over the course of five years, Janet examines the star’s personal life, as well as featuring archival footage of some of the biggest moments from Jackson’s music career, including the infamous 2004 Super Bowl performance with Justin Timberlake.

Fellow stars including Mariah Carey, Missy Elliott, Janelle Monáe, Paula Abdul and Tyler Perry also contributed to the series.

Janet will be available to watch on Sky Documentaries and NOW from Monday 31 January.

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