Today's Evil Beet Gossip

Janet’s Coming Back (Supposedly)

After canceling nine shows as the result of vertigo (???), Janet Jackson will supposedly be back in action on Wednesday night in DC.

“After a thorough medical evaluation, it has been confirmed that Janet’s symptoms are being caused by a rare form of migraine called vestibular migraine or migraine-associated vertigo for which she is currently receiving treatment,” read a statement released by Jackson’s camp.

“Janet wanted very much to resume her tour so as not to disappoint her fans, but she continued to suffer from vertigo and could not perform,” her manager, Kenneth Crear, said. “She’s a world-class entertainer and needs to be at the top of her game to give her fans the show they expect. She’s feeling much better and is ready to hit the road again to finish the tour.”

This all sounds very strange to me.

Does anyone know anything about migraine-associated vertigo?

Or is it special Hollywood code for “drugs”?

20 CommentsLeave a comment

  • i don’t know if it’s code for drugs in this case, but i’ve had several instances of vertigo and migraines since i was a kid, and i remember being hospitalized at least once or twice. it was really odd to read this about janet jackson, because mostly i don’t think people even know what this kind of vertigo is. (my parents and i certainly didn’t.) i’m inclined to believe her people are telling the truth. if they are, i really hope she gets better, because i can say from experience that what we’re talking about is an EXTREMELY unpleasant condition. episodes really are completely debilitating, and if this is what’s been going on, nobody’s being a diva – there was no way she could have gone onstage.

  • Never heard of migraine-associated vertigo. I also have suffered from regular vertigo from time to time. At times it is very intense and throws you way off. I can’t imagine adding a migraine to that equation. I also suffer from tinnitus and clogged estachian(sp) tubes. I rock!!!

  • So did I, I had vertigo after I fell down the stairs at the Rainbow in Hollywood and bashed my head, via my eye, on a cigarette machine at the bottom of the stairs. I had a black half-face, never mind eye, for three months after that fall, and mild brain damage, which included vertigo. No migraines, though, just random but overwhelming vertigo. I forget the pills they gave me for it. That was seven years ago. Vertigo IS real, it’s not a drug-code wink-wink nudge-nudge coverup thing, I mean you’d have to be some kind of a public-relations genius to use vertigo as a hidey-hide pretend ailment.

    Hmm. O.K., maybe Janet’s got brilliant PR people…

  • My father had vertigo and headaches. Its a little crazy. Watching someone get what looks like seasick standing up or walking. AND it totally fucking ruined his dancing career…

  • Yeah, the LAST thing you can do whilst under a spell of vertigo is dance. You’re lucky if you can stand up, or walk from one point of a small room to the other without collapsing in a dizzy, freaked-out heap, never mind dance.

  • What you guys are describing almost sounds like an anxiety/panic attack.
    Not knowing up from down, trembling,sweating, headaches,tunnel vision, weak knees, and nauseous…

    Do you know before vertigo hits? I know before I have an anxiety/panic attack, there are always signs whether it’s 2 hours before, or 2 seconds.

  • I suffer from severe vertigo but its in relation to anxiety. When I first started feeling dizzy and off balance, they did a bunch of ear and vestibular testing… followed by testing for heart defects, brain tumor, etc
    Perhaps Janet is crazy, just like me!

  • Maybe her hair is just pulled too tight into that ghastly mohawk???

    I get the migraines, but thankfully not with vertigo. I get the neon light optical illusions though. Which are a sign of a very bad day to come.

  • Several years ago when my now husband & I just started dating his mom had some inner ear/headach/vertigo thing that was so bad she had to be in the hospitol for around a week. She stiil has vertigo problems today. She can’t ride an escalator, elevator, an airplane, or be in the car for long periods of time.

  • @ krispy

    Yeah, you got to love all the tests they give you while they try to figure out why you are really crazy. I think I spent about two years going to doctors having tests done.

  • Although I cannot say I am a fan of Janet Jackson – I hope she recovers from this soon. Vertigo is debilitating!

    @ purplemonkeypaws

    same. Just short of 2 years and not knowing what was wrong with me… was the worst experience. Then, the arrival and tribulations of denial. I had a hard time believing all of the physical symptoms were reactions to thoughts, feelings, perceptions, my brain.

    My mother always warned me about my vivid imagination…

  • This is definitely a type of vertigo, and is serious. I work at an ear, nose, and throat clinic, and people come in with this kind of problem often. It’s debilitating and scary for people that go through it, and many times, treatment options are limited.