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3d ago

New Tupac Biography Recounts Janet Jackson HIV Test Request on Poetic Justice Set

The account comes via producer Steve Nicolaides in Jeff Pearlman’s interview‑driven biography, with no public confirmation from Jackson or Shakur’s estate.

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Tupac Shakur at the Academy Theater in Beverly Hills in 1993. A new biography of the rapper by Jeff Pearlman reveals that Jackson asked the rapper to take an HIV test before filming a kissing scene in “Poetic Justice.”
Janet Jackson on the set of the 1993 film “Poetic Justice,” directed by John Singleton. A new biography of Tupac Shakur by Jeff Pearlman reveals that Jackson asked the rapper to take an HIV test before filming a kissing scene.

Overview

  • An excerpt from Jeff Pearlman’s Only God Can Judge Me, published by The Hollywood Reporter, details tensions during the 1992 filming of Poetic Justice.
  • Nicolaides recounts that Jackson asked for an HIV/AIDS test before a planned kissing scene, citing concerns about Shakur’s reputation at the time.
  • Shakur allegedly refused the request with profane language, and the producer says he never took the test.
  • Coverage notes early‑1990s fear and stigma around AIDS, and some reports clarify that HIV is not transmitted through saliva.
  • The book also describes status and pay disparities and reports of on‑set lateness and ad‑libbing by Shakur, while the film ultimately grossed about $27 million against a roughly half‑size budget.