Janet Jackson revealed an epic list of celebrities she says she’s related to during her Aug. 13 appearance on Scott Mills’ BBC Radio 2 Breakfast Show.
The star is famous in her own right, but her list of relatives is more impressive than most would have imagined. Jackson spoke candidly about the long list of powerful stars that form the fabric of her very rich family tree. She stunned Mills by telling him that aside from her very well-known nuclear family, she also happens to be related to Stevie Wonder, Tracy Chapman and Samuel L. Jackson.
Jackson rhymed off the big names as if it was nothing at all, as Mills wore the shock of the news on his face. The first was Stevie Wonder.
“He’s our cousin. Not a lot of people know that — he’s our cousin, on my mother’s side,” Jackson told the host.
Mills’ jaw dropped as he said, “That’s blowing my mind …”
Before he could finish his sentence, Jackson interrupted with yet another shocking name.
“So is Tracy Chapman,” Jackson told Mills.
“Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa — hang on!” Mills shouted as he gestured wildly, in a state of dramatic shock. He tried to reign in the conversation and confirm what he had just heard.
NEW YORK – SEPTEMBER 13: Janet Jackson performs onstage during the 2009 MTV Video Music Awards at Radio City Music Hall on September 13, 2009 in New York City. (Photo by Christopher Polk/Getty Images)
“Can we go through the family tree again …” he said, as Jackson interrupted once more to claim, “So is Samuel L. Jackson.”
Samuel L. Jackson previously denied being related to Michael Jackson on a video question and answer session with Wired in 2017. “Nope,” he said in answer to the question, apparently a popular one in Google search.
Mills then asked Jackson what each person was to her once more on BBC Radio 2.
“My cousin, cousin,” the singer replied regarding the first two celebrities, and when she got to Samuel L. Jackson’s name, she claimed, “he would be a cousin too.”
Jackson smirked as Mills struggled to take it in.
“I mean he’s not my brother …” she claimed about Jackson, as the conversation trailed off.
LOS ANGELES, CA – FEBRUARY 14: Singer/actress Janet Jackson presents singer Stevie Wonder the Image Awards Hall of Fame award onstage during the 39th NAACP Image Awards held at the Shrine Auditorium on February 14, 2008 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Jesse Grant/Getty Images)
Wonder is a third cousin once removed from Janet’s mom Katherine’s side of the family tree, according to TMZ. (RELATED: ‘My Mind Is Blown’: Famous Actress Julia Roberts Takes DNA Test, Discovers She’s Been Living A Lie Her Entire Life)
Jackson’s relationship with Tracy and Samuel L. is reportedly uncertain, but the famous singer didn’t elaborate further.
Janet Jackson and Wonder have an existing relationship and they’ve appeared together publicly a number of times, including the time Jackson presented Wonder with his Hall of Fame Award at the NAACP Image Awards in L.A, according to TMZ.
