It appears that Janet Jackson may have lied about her health in order to get out of a scheduled performance Saturday for the iHeartRadio Music Festival in Las Vegas. She announced the cancellation due to an ear problem, but her creative director insists she is fine.
Janet Jackson apparently had a change of heart about performing at the festival to promote her new single and album, and she and her handlers believed they had the explanation for her absence under control. An iHeart Media spokesman claimed Janet was cancelling "due to a recent ear issue preventing her from flying."
Someone forgot to share the memo with Janet's longtime pal and creative director Gil Duldulao, however, who tweeted: "Ain't nobody got a ear issue" in response to reports that she may be performing concerts against doctor's orders. When a fan responded thanking him for clarifying the situation, he added: "... that's [the] dumbest thing I ever heard in my life. A ear problem ... if there was a issue she wouldn't be on time hittin them steps. Lol. And sista is hittin them steps and yes on time. Haha."
Duldulao is referring to Jackson's hitting the dance moves that she and her older brother Michael are so famous for and which she is currently performing on her Unbreakable tour, named for her new album. Jackson, who is 49, has been receiving rave reviews for the tour thus far, where she is performing many of her classic hits in addition to new tunes.
iHeartRadio is an Internet platform that aggregates hundreds of local radio stations in the U.S. and allows listeners to hear them via the Web. The company's concerts are legendary for featuring all of today's top music stars, who appear for the sake of self-promotion to the influential stations on the iHeart roster. Janet is such a huge star already, however, that she may not care and didn't want to fly all the way out to Vegas during her big tour. Suspiciously, Jackson performed the following day in Miami and continues her world tour with no dates canceled due to ear issues.
