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Janet Jackson ‘Still Has Issues’ With her Body

Janet Jackson smiles at fans upon her arrival at the Manila International Airport February 3, 2011. Jackson will kick off her "Number Ones, Up Close and Personal" world tour with a concert in Manila on Friday.

*Janet Jackson says she continues to have issues with her body image.

In an interview with “Today” host Meredith Viera set to air Friday (Feb. 11), the 44-year-old singer admits she has always struggled with her self-confidence, and though she now feels more comfortable with her appearance than she did in her 20s, she still has periods of feeling unattractive.

“I would literally bang my head up against the wall because I didn’t feel attractive. There was a lot of pain in my life. But I did. I felt very unattractive.

“I still have issues with it. I don’t bang my head up against the wall, but I still have those moments. And I think it’ll probably continue but at least I know how to deal with it now. And I’m in a much better space.”

As Janet has mentioned before, many of her insecurities, she believes, stem from the nicknames she was given by her famous brothers, including “horse, pig, cow, and slaughter-hog.”

“It makes you laugh, it really does. It makes you laugh,” she said. “I guess some people could say, ‘Oh that’s, you know, brothers and sisters joking, it’s all affection, it’s all, you know, it’s in a loving way.’ But not everybody can brush it off, and I was one of those.”

Miss Jackson also spoke about her relationship with her father Joe Jackson, admitting he banned her from calling him “Dad.”

“He said, ‘I’m Joseph to you. You do not call me dad.’ That affects you as a kid,” she told Viera. “I know my father loves me. He just has a very, very different way of showing it.”

Janet recorded the “Today” interview to plug her new book, “True You: A Journey to Finding and Loving Yourself,” and world tour “Up Close and Personal.” Both launch on Friday.