Janet Jackson Remembers Whitney Houston

The devastating loss of Whitney Houston continues to be felt throughout the music industry. Another one of her superstar peers, Janet Jackson, spoke about first learning of Whitney’s passing, her incredible talent, and advice to daughter Bobbi Kristina during her appearance on Anderson Cooper’s daytime talk show. “It’s very, very devastating and I pray for her and her family, even Bobby,” said a grief-stricken Janet.

On her reaction to the tragic news: “I couldn’t believe it. Immediately I started shaking. I was trying to text everyone that I knew to let them know and I was speechless. I could not believe it.”

On Whitney’s talent: “Incredible. She was known as the voice. When she would open her mouth and this instrument would come out, you would obviously understand why. She was such a sweet, sweet soul, especially back in the early ’80s and early ’90s is when I connected with Whitney the most. It doesn’t matter if we were doing an awards show, we would always take the time out to find one another. Either she’d come to my dressing room to say hey and I’d be in makeup, or I’d find her in her dressing room to say hey. We always found time to talk to one another. She was such a sweet soul.”

On her advice to Bobbi Kristina: “It’s a very, very tough time. Even though it’s still a loss. I lost my brother, she lost her mother. There’s still a difference, even though there’s a still a loss to a family. I don’t know what that’s like being so young. It was hard for me. It was very, very difficult for me. I didn’t want to accept it, it’s very difficult. You have to come to terms at some point. You have to actually give it up to God and it sounds so mean, but you have to move on. You can’t hold onto that because it can be very devastating. Sometimes therapy is the best thing.”