Janet Jackson: I Have a Sexual Mind

Friday, June 04, 2004

NEW YORK �?nbsp;Long before she exposed her right breast to the world during the Super Bowl halftime show, Janet Jackson (search) says she had thoughts about sex.

"As I've gotten older, I've come to realize that I had a very active sexual mind at a very young age. I hope that doesn't sound bad," Jackson tells Blender magazine for its June/July issue.

"My first crush was on Barry Manilow (search). He performed on television, and I remember taping it. When no one was around, I used to kiss the screen."

Jackson also recalls having a "major crush" on Teddy Pendergrass when she was 12.

"I thought he was singing to me," says the singer, now 38. "When you're a kid, you have little fantasies, but I saw myself being with him as an adult, not as a kid."

Now, Jackson says she expresses more grown-up urges through one of her alter egos, named Strawberry: "She's the most sexual of them all, the wildest."

The other character living inside her is Damita Jo (search), which is her middle name and the title of her latest album. Damita Jo, she says, is "a lot harsher, and quick to put you in your place."