Janet Jackson breaks down on US TV

'My father was never the way I really wanted a father to be,' said the 44-year old pop star, who has been performing since she was five.

'I tried to call him dad once but he said: 'I'm Joseph to you. You do not call me dad'. That affects you as a kid,' she added emotionally.

'It still affects me now, as you can see,' she continued as her voice cracked and her eyes welled with tears.

On NBC's The Today Show Janet also talked about her older brother, King of Pop, Michael Jackson and how he and the rest of her brothers would call her names.

'There were a lot of names,' she said. 'Horse, pig, cow, slut or hog,' she added.

Dressed in an impeccable white suit Janet described how she has despised her looks for most of her life.

'I would literally bang my head up against the wall and cry because I felt so ugly,' she said. 'I felt very unattractive.'

The five Grammy holder is embarking on a new world tour and has written a book, True You, dedicated to her dead brother.