I had a Jackson 5 wig that I would wear around, and I would do, like, the dances from the Jackson 5, and, you know, my mother thought that was hysterical. So of course, that seed got planted very early, the physicality of comedy.
When I was a kid, I remember seeing Michael Jackson. I thought he was an alien. You don't grow up to be like Michael Jackson. I'm not saying I'm Michael Jackson, but Mercury Prizes are for aliens, basically. So I was very chuffed that I got nominated, and then I won.
One time, this guy at this music festival would not let me off the hook that I was Percy Jackson. He was like, 'Quit lying to me, bro, I know you're Percy Jackson.' I was like, 'I swear to God, I'm not Percy Jackson.'
When I was 17, my producer Rodney Jerkins was working with Michael Jackson at the time. He knew how much I wanted to meet Michael Jackson, so he says, 'Would you like to come and meet him?' I'm like, 'Are you serious? Of course I want to meet Michael Jackson! Where do I meet you? Where do we come?'
Part of the reason I fell in love with dance so early was because of people like Janet Jackson, Michael Jackson, and Britney Spears. When they would dance onstage and in their videos, that was huge for me. I lived for that.
If I wasn't doing candy, I'd want to create the best rescue animal-shelter organization. Otherwise, the Jackson 5 and Michael Jackson were so much a part of my childhood, and Janet and I have become friends. So my second dream job would be backup singer for Janet Jackson!
When I used to work for Reverend Jesse Jackson he would say, "You've got to know the rules in order to break the rules." The 1988 campaign of Reverend Jesse Jackson made fundamental changes to the way Democrats do business.
Anecdote: The extent of Michael Jackson's fame at its height, and his eagerness to exploit it is shown by an incident in 1984 when invited to a White House reception hosted by then President and First Lady Ronald and Nancy Reagan. Jackson had been assured that the only people there, besides the presidential couple, would be a few staff members' children. Aghast to find around 75 adults and no children, Jackson locked himself in an upstairs bathroom, refusing to emerge until assured that all non-essential adults had been replaced by a number of children.
I would just take dolls around the house - there's old VHS footage from my dad, who was an early adapter and had this RCA camera - and it's me taking a Michael Jackson Barbie doll and putting on a show with that.
I used to love, love Steve Martin. I still do... I would get these albums, and I would just listen to them all the time. I would stand in my room and pretend that I was delivering his comedy routine... And I don't know if that planted any kind of seed, but I wasn't raised going to the theatre.
I've got so many dance heroes, and it's such a cliche, but how can I not say Michael Jackson? Michael Jackson, Janet Jackson, Paula Abdul - they are the people I remember when I was a little girl, watching their videos and trying to learn all the choreography.
On `Earth Song' I was the military guy that would come out of a tank that was used during the show. It was unbelievable; somehow I'd become a Michael Jackson fan that got to dance with Michael Jackson! I spent a lot of time wondering, "what the hell did I do right to deserve this?"
Don't try and be like someone else. There is already a Michael Jackson, a Janet Jackson, a Beyonce. You be you. And take advantage of the social media platform you have to share. That wasn't around when I started out.
Well, you have to understand where we came from. We are not here because we decided 10 years ago that we were going to be x-size company, and, oh, yeah, Jackson would be a good headquarters. We work here in Mississippi because we started here, and we are certainly happy here. Those of us working out of Jackson intend to continue working out of Jackson.
If I was working on Michael Jackson if he came back to life, I would be ready. I would be ready. 'The Resurrection' Michael Jackson album, I would be ready.
My whole childhood when I was growing up, Michael Jackson was my husband. My cousins had Jackie Jackson and my sister had Jermaine Jackson. We all had the brothers, but Michael was my husband. So, to me, in my little 6-year-old or 13-year-old brain I'm talking to my husband. I don't want to get over excited. I don't want to sound too much like a screaming fan.
We named the film 'Action Jackson' because our hero, Ajay Devgn, is known as 'AJ,' and we thought it would be a good idea to use the initials and extend it into the title 'Action Jackson,' as Ajay is doing both action and dancing in the film.