Janet Jackson asked Tupac to take AIDS test before Poetic Justice kissing scene, claims new biography
"It was the early 1990s, and people were still dying of AIDS," the film's producer, Steve Nicolaides said
By Aaron Sugg
Janet Jackson allegedly asked Tupac Shakur to take an AIDS test before a kissing scene in their 1993 movie Poetic Justice, according to a new biography.
In Only God Can Judge Me: The Many Lives of Tupac Shakur, author Jeff Pearlman describes tensions between the artists whilst filming the Sony Pictures film.
In Poetic Justice, Jackson stars as Justice, a poetic hairdresser, and Tupac plays Lucky, a letter carrier and aspiring rapper who sparks a romance during a road trip.
“Shit hit the fan late in the process, when it was time to film a kissing scene,” Pearlman writes, in an excerpt published by The Hollywood Reporter on Monday (20 October).
In his book, Pearlman interviewed the film’s producer, Steve Nicolaides, who recalled Jackson raising concerns about the star’s sexual activity.
The excerpt states: “Nicolaides was summoned to Jackson’s trailer, where she sat with her fiancé, a dancer named René Elizondo Jr. ‘You know, Tupac’s reputation is that he’s a cat about town,’ Jackson said.”
“I don’t want to swap saliva with him” – Steve Nicolaides alleges Janet Jackson said to him during filming for Poetic Justice
She allegedly added: “‘And I don’t want to swap saliva with him until I’m really sure that he’s healthy and clean.'”
Confronting the rapper about the Grammy Award-winner’s concerns, Pearlman claimed to have continued: “‘Sooooo . . . Tupac,’ he said. Tupac looked up. ‘I’ll just spit this out to you, man,’ he said. ‘Janet wants you to have an AIDS test before you kiss her.'”
The excerpt reads, “‘You kidding?’ Tupac asked. ‘No,’ said Nicolaides. ‘Fuck her,’ Tupac said. ‘I ain’t doing shit for that bitch. Tell her to go fuck herself.’”
“I can’t blame Janet for asking” – Nicolaides on HIV in the 1990s
In the extract, Nicolaides responded: “I can’t blame Janet for asking. It was the early 1990s, and people were still dying of AIDS. And Tupac, God love him, had a reputation. But he never got the test.”
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), in 1993, heterosexual HIV transmission accounted for 6,056 AIDS cases reported among women and 3,232 cases among men.
Despite this, Jackson has a long history of donating to AIDS causes, most notably donating all proceeds from her 1997 single ‘Together Again’ to the American Foundation for AIDS Research (amfAR).
She also served as an amfAR ambassador, chaired benefit events, appeared in PSAs, and has been honoured for her activism by organisations such as the Human Rights Campaign and AIDS Project Los Angeles.
Tupac died 13 September 1996, from gunshot wounds sustained in a drive-by shooting.
Can HIV/AIDS be transmitted through kissing?
No, HIV is primarily spread through the exchange of certain bodily fluids, including blood, semen, vaginal fluids and breast milk, not saliva. It is commonly transmitted via unprotected vaginal or anal sex and sharing needles.
Importantly, HIV cannot be transmitted through saliva – kissing does not pose a risk of HIV transmission.
To learn more, please visit the official NHS website.