The 'World of Dance' host used to be a back-up dancer for the music icon.
At age 19, Jenna Dewan was left a little speechless upon receiving a NSFW Valentine's Day gift from her employer at the time, Janet Jackson.
The World of Dance host used to be a back-up dancer for the music legend and gushed over the perks of working for her during an appearance on Tuesday's Jimmy Kimmel Live.
"She was a great boss, she was a very generous boss. She would give us, like, amazing gifts," she recalled. "I have a blinged-out diamond watch, which, by the way, should everything go away, I'm like, 'I could sell this watch!'"
Dewan added that she and the other back-up dancers got a more unconventional gift from Jackson come Feb. 14. "On Valentine's Day -- and mind you, I'm 19, on tour with Janet, so I'm like, baby, baby, baby naive -- she gives you, like, a box of vibrators," she remembered. "Like, a pleasure chest. All the dancers [got a box]. But still, I was like, 'What is this??' I was, mind blown."
Dewan told Kimmel that getting on Jackson's tour was a lifelong dream for her, and one that came true when the singer personally pulled her aside at a music video shoot.
"I came out to L.A. I was going to college, and then I auditioned for her video, and then she came into the room one day, and was like, 'Um, everyone can leave. Jenna, can you stay?' And I was like, 'Uhhh, am I being fired? Like what's going on here,'” the 37-year-old Step Up star recalled. “She walks in, she was like, 'Do you wanna go on tour with me?' And I just freaked out. You know, that was my dream job."
The tour turned out to be much more lavish than Dewan could have ever imagined.
“I was in college, I was going to USC, so I went from like dorm life to being on private jets like right away,” she explained. “One time, we’re in rehearsal and we’re rehearsing for the HBO special and [Janet] comes in and she’s like, ‘So, everybody pack your bags. We’re going to fly to Anguilla tomorrow and rehearse for two weeks. Everybody’s celebrating and I’m like ‘Where’s Anguilla?’”
Dewan continued, “We’d wake up, go out on to the beach, lay out, and rehearse from like two to seven -- and then go to the clubs. Then repeat for two weeks. That’s insane! Who does that?”
She and Jackson are clearly still close as they just reunited at Sunday's Billboard Music Awards. They even shared the stage -- along with some of Jackson’s other former dancers -- last October during the 52-year-old singer's concert at the Hollywood Bowl.
"Generations of Janet kids brought together! ♥️," Dewan captioned an Instagram photo at the time, which featured herself and the other former backup dancers at Jackson's show. "Dancing for her was always way more than a job, it was being part of a legacy. I have been pinching myself all day being in a room years later dancing with these legends. Excited to share soon."
Here's more on Jackson's reunion with her dancers:
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