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Several months after the controversial Leaving Neverland docu-series debuted on HBO, Janet Jackson is breaking her silence on what she thinks her brother’s legacy will be moving forward.
In a rare interview with The Sunday Times of London, the singer says she believes Michael Jackson’s catalog of work will ensure that his legacy lives on.
“It will continue,” she told the publication. “I love it when I see kids emulating him, when adults still listen to his music. It just lets you know the impact that my family has had on the world. I hope I’m not sounding arrogant in any way — I’m just stating what is. It’s really all God’s doing, and I’m just thankful for that.”
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Jackson, 53, who is currently in the middle of her Las Vegas residency, admits that growing up in her show business family, and working from such a young age was both special and “grueling.” She also shared that her fondest memories were of times when she helped her older siblings with “charitable acts.”
She specifically recalled how when Michael was in his late teens, he would buy barbecue dinners and drive around town with her “looking for homeless people to feed.”
“You really miss out,” she said of what it was like never really having a normal childhood. “You don’t get to do all the fun things that kids do. I wanted to do gymnastics, but that couldn’t happen because I was busy working. But at least I had my brothers and sisters. They were my best friends.”
One thing that brings the music icon peace is that she “did say everything” to her father Joe Jackson that she needed to before her father died almost a year ago, and plans to give her 2½ -year-old Eissa, the freedom she never had.
“I was thankful for the time that I did have with him, with Eissa, the three of us together,” she said. “Being together with my father in the end.”
READ MORE: L.A. elementary school votes to retain Michael Jackson’s name on its auditorium
From the heartache of losing both her brother and father, to the divorce she went through shortly after giving birth, Jackson says therapy and the love of her child have now become her saving grace.
“It’s never going to be an easy ride, but we’re going to get through this,” she concluded. “I’ve done a lot in my life and it’s about having fun, continuing to have fun. There are still things that I do want to do in life, but if I don’t get to do those things, then I’m good. I have a son and he’s beautiful. He’s my light.”