Janet Jackson made a notable appearance this past Tuesday at the Dancers Against Cancer’s 2025 Gala Of The Stars in Beverly Hills. The event, held at the Beverly Hilton, saw the 59-year-old music legend gracing the red carpet in a simple yet elegant black minidress, radiating her signature charisma.

Jackson’s attendance at the gala, where she was recognized as one of the honorees, came just a day after news surfaced regarding a controversial claim about her past. An upcoming book detailing the production of the 1993 film “Poetic Justice” alleges that Jackson insisted on her co-star, the late Tupac Shakur, undergoing an AIDS test before filming a kissing scene. The Daily Mail has reached out to Jackson’s team for comment on these claims, but there has been no response so far.

The pop icon, known for hits like “All For You,” looked stunning in her sleek black satin ensemble, which featured long sleeves and a subtle train. Her look was completed with knee-high black leather boots that boasted pointy toes, adding an edgy flair to her sophisticated attire.

As Jackson continues to shine in public appearances, her family remains in the spotlight as well. Her niece, Paris Jackson, is currently embroiled in a legal dispute concerning the estate of her late father, Michael Jackson. Nevertheless, Janet Jackson’s presence at the gala was a reminder of her enduring influence and grace in the entertainment industry.

The All For You singer — whose niece Paris Jackson is currently engaged in a legal battle with the executors of her late father Michael Jackson’s estate — glowed at Tuesday’s gala in a lustrous black satin minidress with long sleeves.

The outfit featured a modest train, and Jackson spiced it up with knee-high black leather boots with pointy toes.

Janet Jackson, 59, made a rare public appearance on Tuesday when she attended Dancers Against Cancer’s 2025 Gala Of The Stars in Beverly Hills

Jackson was stepping out in public just a day after it was reported that an upcoming book about the making of the 1993 film Poetic Justice (pictured) claimed that she refused to kiss her costar, the late Tupac Shakur, unless he was tested for AIDS first

She spiced up her minimalist look with multiple diamond-encrusted rings, and she framed her shockingly youthful face with her shoulder-length hair, which was styled in caramel-colored waves.

Jackson was celebrating the second Gala of the Stars, the largest fundraising event for Dancers Against Cancer.

Proceeds raised at the gala ‘provide financial assistance and hope to dancers, choreographers, and their families impacted by cancer,’ according to the organization’s website. 

Jackson was being honored with the Gala of the Stars’ Icon Award.

The striking appearance on Tuesday follows the publication on Monday in The Hollywood Reporter of an excerpt from Jeff Pearlman’s upcoming book Only God Can Judge Me: The Many Lives Of Tupac Shakur.

The excerpt concerned the filming of John Singleton’s 1993 film Poetic Justice, which starred Jackson and Tupac Shakur.

Although their romantic chemistry on screen was enough to make the movie a commercial success, Pearlman alleges that things were far more tense between Jackson and Shakur behind the scenes.

At the nadir of their working relationship, Jackson allegedly stipulated that Shakur would have to take an AIDS test — and pass it — before she would film kissing scenes with the rapper, who was gunned down in 1996 at just 25.

The All For You singer glowed at Tuesday’s gala in a lustrous black satin minidress with long sleeves

The outfit featured a modest train, and Jackson spiced it up with knee-high black leather boots with pointy toes

She spiced up her minimalist look with multiple diamond-encrusted rings, and she framed her shockingly youthful face with her shoulder-length hair, which was styled in caramel-colored waves

In the film, Jackson plays a poet working a day job as a hairstylist who takes a road trip from LA to Oakland with multiple friends (including a postal worker played by Shakur) as she tries to escape her grief over the recent death of her boyfriend in a shooting. 

Pearlman writes that, according to fellow Poetic Justice star Joe Torry, Shakur repeatedly showed up late to set, sometimes hours after he was supposed to have arrived.

Shakur also allegedly had failed to memorize much of the movie’s script, and his repeated attempts to make up lines on the spot had begun to annoy Singleton.

To make matters worse, the rapper’s performance allegedly suffered because he was ‘high all the time’ and ‘drunk some of the time.’

By contrast, Jackson was described as a ‘pro’s pro’ thanks to the discipline she had developed over the years, going back to her start as a child performer.

Pearlman writes that Jackson and Shakur’s on-set working relationship cratered late in the filming schedule, shortly before they were to film a kissing scene. 

‘In the days beforehand, Tupac talked nonstop about overwhelming Jackson with his lips and tongue,’ he writes.

However, the Control singer didn’t care for his over-the-top braggadocio, and she allegedly told one of the film’s producers, Steve Nicolaides, just three days before the scene was scheduled to be shot that she would only kiss Shakur on one condition.

According to an excerpt published in The Hollywood Reporter from Jeff Pearlman’s upcoming book Only God Can Judge Me: The Many Lives Of Tupac Shakur, Jackson was so annoyed by Shakur’s on-set behavior that she wouldn’t film a kiss scene without him getting tested for AIDS; still from Poetic Justice

Shakur allegedly upset Jackson, as well as director John Singleton and the film’s producers, by repeatedly being hours late, failing to learn his lines, showing up intoxicated, and bragging about ‘overwhelming Jackson with his lips and tongue; still from Poetic Justice

‘F*** her,’ Shakur allegedly replied when Jackson’s request was passed on. Producer Steve Nicolaides claimed he never took the test, but Jackson still filmed the kissing scene; still from Poetic Justice

‘You know, Tupac’s reputation is that he’s a cat about town,’ Jackson reportedly said. ‘And I don’t want to swap saliva with him until I’m really sure that he’s healthy and clean.’ 

Jackson, who was reportedly accompanied at the meeting by her then-fiancé, the dancer René Elizondo Jr., said she had already shared her request with the film’s director, John Singleton, but he ‘just walked off’ in response.

When Nicolaides relayed Jackson’s request that Shakur ‘have an AIDS test,’ the hitmaker reportedly responded, ‘You kidding?’

‘F*** her,’ Shakur allegedly replied. ‘I ain’t doing s*** for that b****. Tell her to go f*** herself.’

The producer allegedly thought Shakur might have been joking after he then smiled at him, but when he asked to confirm, Shakur said ‘hell no’ to the test. 

‘I honestly think he found it amusing,’ Nicolaides told Pearlman. ‘And the truth is, 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.’

Nicolaides added that Shakur ‘never got the test,’ but Jackson nevertheless filmed the kissing scene with him.

Jackson ended up with an Oscar nomination for Poetic Justice for her original song Again, though she lost to Bruce Springsteen’s Streets Of Philadelphia from the Tom Hanks and Denzel Washington–starring Philadelphia.