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Janet Jackson Label, Boyfriend on Outs
What hath Janet Jackson's latest album wrought? Well, besides subpar sales...
One month after the release of 20 Y.O., and amid its slide down the charts, the ballyhooed album appears to have sunk the relationship between Jackson's record label and Jackson's boyfriend, Jermaine Dupri.
In a statement Wednesday, producer/mogul Jermaine Dupri said he was leaving his executive position with Virgin Records.
"Since there are so many rumors running rampant about my position at Virgin Records, I feel that it is necessary to set the record straight," Dupri said. "I was not forced out of the company. I made a decision that it was in my best interest to leave."
The statement appears to be a direct retort to a FoxNews.com report that said Dupri had "quit—i.e., was forced out."
Dupri's publicist did not elaborate on the statement. Jackson's publicist, who's also Dupri's publicist, said the singer had no comment.
A spokeswoman for EMI, the music giant and parent company of Virgin, declined comment, except to note of Dupri, "He has not resigned."
While Dupri's employment status may be subject of debate, Jackson's sales status isn't: It's not great.
Upon its release on Sept. 26, 20 Y.O. became only the second Jackson album since 1986 to fail to open at No. 1. The first was 2004's Damita Jo.
Damita Jo hit stores less than two months after Jackson suffered a "wardrobe malfunction" at the Super Bowl. 20 Y.O., having the benefit of putting more than two full years between Jackson's public and Jackson's exposed right breast, was expected to restore the singer as a chart-topping star.
If the album's first week sales of 297,000 were considered a disappointment, then its subsequent sales of fewer than 150,000 are considered even worse.
Dupri, who was a producer on Mariah Carey's The Emancipation of Mimi comeback, was an executive producer on 20 Y.O. More than that, he was president of Virgin's urban music division.
In a recent New York Times interview, Dupri criticized a previous Virgin regime for failing to properly promote Damita Jo and properly guide Jackson.
"She's a black artist, and for the past three years I feel like they alienated the urban community," Dupri said in the newspaper. "That's why I think her sales have been down."
Dupri was hired by Virgin in 2005. He has been romantically linked to Jackson since 2002.
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