Tupac
All eyes on the results…
Janet Jackson wanted him to take an AIDS test, book claims
Published
Tupac Shakur had a reputation for promiscuity in the early 1990s…and a hotly anticipated new book claims it led Janet Jackson asking the studio to test him for AIDS before a kissing scene.
Jeff Pearlman — a noted biographer — has written a new book called “Only God Can Judge Me: The Many Lives of Tupac Shakur” … and in it, he discusses the time when Tupac was filming the 1993 film “Poetic Justice” with Janet.
According to Pearlman, the two didn’t get along much…with Janet a consummate professional on set while Tupac tended to come and go as he pleased.
Days before a kiss scene between Pac and Janet, Pearlman writes, Tupac apparently kept talking about “overwhelming Jackson with his lips and mouth”… and, ultimately, Steve Nicolaides — a producer of the film — was called to his trailer.
Nicolaides tells Pearlman Janet – sitting with her then fiancé Rene Elizondo Jr. — expressed concern about Tupac’s playboy persona…and he says she told him she didn’t “want to exchange spit with him until I’m really sure he’s healthy and clean.”
Steve dutifully approached Pac with the request… who apparently responded with a NSFW tirade aimed at Jackson before flatly refusing to take the test.
Nicolaides says he doesn’t blame Janet for asking about the test… AIDS was still rampant in the early 1990s – and, he admits, Pac had developed a reputation, so it wasn’t the most unreasonable request.
The film still did pretty well despite the tension… earning $27 million at the box office against a budget about half that amount – and it’s still a fan favorite to this day.
“Only God Can Judge Me: The Many Lives of Tupac Shakur”…and we’re sure this Janet Jackson story is just the tip of the iceberg.