Janet Jackson’s highly anticipated Lifetime documentary, Janet Jackson., brought multiple generations of fans together last Friday and Saturday (Jan. 28-29). Over the course of the two-night premiere, the music and entertainment legend opened up about her personal life for the first time while shedding new light on a few of her most prominent career moments.
In 2017, Jackson hired a film crew to document her State of the World Tour. They stuck around for five years and captured more intimate parts of her life, including her journey to motherhood. The four-part documentary details mostly every aspect of her past—from her Gary, Ind. upbringing in a small yet crowded home to her romantic relationships with R&B singer James DeBarge, dancer-director René Elizondo Jr., and renowned producer Jermaine Dupri. Jackson also explains how her close-knit relationship with her late brother, Michael Jackson, began to fray as they both grew into their respective stardoms.
During the weekend of the documentary’s premiere, Jackson’s self-produced film reached over 15.7 million viewers across Lifetime, A&E, and other digital video views. Despite the movie’s success on the small screen and social media, we’re still left with many thoughts.
Here are 12 lingering questions we’re still left with and pondering after sitting with the film.