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Janet Jackson's Secret Child Scandal Exposed By Her Ex-Husband James DeBarge — 10 Shocking Updates On The Exes' Decades-Long Baby Drama!

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Sep. 5 2018, Updated 5:13 p.m. ET

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12th Annual American Music Awards

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Amid the joy of her shocking announcement that she will be welcoming her first child with her husband, Wissam Al Mana, Janet Jackson is dealing with some additional baby drama caused by her ex-husband James DeBarge's new tell-all interview!

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Speaking to RadarOnline.com following Jackson’s baby reveal, DeBarge — who was married to Jackson from 1984 to 1985 — revealed his thoughts on the rumors that Jackson had secretly given birth to a baby during the time they were together!

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Debarge said that a woman stepped forward claiming to be his daughter! “Someone had contacted me. She spoke to me by email,” he said. “The first time was two years ago. I have not been able to directly see her face-to-face.” He said that woman “suggested” that they take a paternity test, but they have yet to go through with the procedure due to his fears. He added that when the woman reached out to him, she claimed to be Jackson’s daughter. “She did but without saying it,” he said. “She was angry because another child was trying to come forward and say that she was our child. So she did out of anger.”

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“She described as much as she could tell me because she was very fearful at the time,” he continued. “She was very angry about people running with this story about this other child being my baby. She got very angry. She’s like, ‘Papa I want to help you out.’ She had so much of personality and she was so accurate with everything she was saying, it was only things that I and Janet know. No one else but god, me and Janet.”

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James DeBarge

He said that she wanted to keep their conversations private as well. “She called me ‘papa,'” DeBarge said. “She didn’t want to get her mom in trouble. She wanted to do it quietly. She didn’t even want Janet to know.” He added that their emails also revealed that the alleged daughter had been told she had been put up for adoption by Jackson. “One of her adoptive parents died,” he said. “Her adoptive mother on her death bed said she told her. She confirmed it on the deathbed.”

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DeBarge said that he had earlier done his own search for a possible secret daughter from his marriage with Jackson. “I hadn’t known that Janet had a baby… not for sure,” he said. “I went on a search. Someone went through some serious changes to make it impossible for me to find. This had to be some serious inside work being done with the paperwork. Someone was working with them.” He added that the woman’s email to him caused him some serious emotional stress. “I was hurt and I didn’t know why I was hurt,” he said. “I think I was hurt because I had mixed emotions. I felt kind of left out and I felt like it was unfair. At first, I felt like this was the worst thing in the world that happened to me. I was so depressed by it at first.”

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He went on to tell RadarOnline.com that he wishes he had know about the alleged child earlier. “It would have to be hidden from me if she wasn’t a part of my life all the time and I didn’t know anything about her,” he explained. “There’s no way it could not have been hidden. I didn’t know. Had I known, I would never have kept it a secret. I would have been very proud of her.”

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DeBarge told the site that it was likely “fear” that has kept Jackson from speaking to him about the scandal. “Fear and lots of pressure. From every angle, from inside and outside… Not knowing how it could hurt her career. A lot of outside influences were involved in our whole relationship to where we didn’t have a chance from the gate,” he said, adding that his relationship with Jackson faced some serious drama outside of the secret child rumors! “They didn’t want us to have anything. There were times when I was jumped, physically, and attacked. It was dangerous to the point that I was afraid to go outside,” he said.

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He went on to tell RadarOnline.com that he wishes he had know about the alleged child earlier. “It would have to be hidden from me if she wasn’t a part of my life all the time and I didn’t know anything about her,” he explained. “There’s no way it could not have been hidden. I didn’t know. Had I known, I would never have kept it a secret. I would have been very proud of her."

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It has been reported for decades that Jackson may have had a secret child, with Star publishing several detailed reports about the rumors in 1994. “I saw Janet before she left, and from what I could see, she was definitely pregnant,” Debarge’s mother, Etterlene DeBarge, told the magazine. “She wasn’t fooling anyone.” James later wrote an open letter in the magazine as well, pleading with Jackson to tell the truth about the rumors. “I don’t care how no good I was. I feel like you should have gotten in contact with me about the baby,” he said in the note. “I don’t want to live the rest of my life not knowing the truth. I just want my child to know I’m her father.” However, Jackson has remained quiet about the rumors, with her team offering no comment on the reignited talk about the secret baby! What do you think about Janet and James' secret baby scandal? Tweet us @OKMagazine or let us know in the comments section.

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