Janet Jackson said Samuel L. Jackson, Stevie Wonder and Tracy Chapman are her cousins during a 2024 BBC Radio 2 interview. That is what she said—not proof that the family connections have been independently established. The available coverage does not document the exact genealogical links.
What Janet Jackson said about her famous cousins
During an appearance on BBC Radio 2, Janet Jackson told host Scott Mills that Stevie Wonder was a cousin on her mother’s side. The Los Angeles Times reported her words: “Not a lot of people know that. [Wonder is] our cousin on my mother’s side,”
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Jackson also named singer-songwriter Tracy Chapman and actor Samuel L. Jackson as cousins. The Times coverage, published August 14, 2024, reports the claims but does not supply family records or another independent account establishing how any of the three is related to her.
Are the relationships independently verified?
Not in the cited coverage. The Los Angeles Times said online records did not immediately show links between Janet Jackson and the people she named. It also noted that TMZ had reported Stevie Wonder was the Jacksons’ third cousin once removed, but said TMZ did not cite a source for that degree of relation. That detail should therefore not be treated as verified genealogy.
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The distinction matters: Jackson’s interview is evidence that she made the claims, while the reporting described here does not establish the underlying family trees. The precise relationships remain undocumented in these accounts.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.What Samuel L. Jackson said about Michael Jackson
In a 2017 Wired interview, Samuel L. Jackson was asked, “Is Samuel L Jackson related to Michael Jackson?” He answered, “Nope,” according to The Independent, which covered Janet Jackson’s 2024 interview on August 13, 2024.
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That brief denial concerned whether Samuel L. Jackson was related to Michael Jackson. It does not by itself settle whether he is related to Janet Jackson, a separate question raised by her later statement.
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What the reports establish—and what they do not
- Established: Janet Jackson publicly described Stevie Wonder, Tracy Chapman and Samuel L. Jackson as cousins in the 2024 BBC Radio 2 interview.
- Specified: She said Wonder was a cousin on her mother’s side.
- Not established by the cited coverage: The exact genealogical connection to any of the three, including the reported degree of relationship between Wonder and the Jackson family.
- Separate context: Samuel L. Jackson answered “Nope” when asked in 2017 whether he was related to Michael Jackson.
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