Janet Jackson surprises UCLA gymnast on FaceTime after dance routine set to her music goes viral

Rachel Yang
·3 min read
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Ian West/PA Images via Getty Images; Kyusung Gong/AP/Shutterstock Janet Jackson, Margzetta Frazier

Real is recognizing real.

Janet Jackson took the time on Friday to call up UCLA gymnast Margzetta Frazier, who recently wowed fans with a routine set to Jackson's hits.

"I just want to say thank you. Thank you for sharing your talent. It's so beautiful to see you tumble. Really inspiring," Jackson told Frazier on the FaceTime call, which she shared on Twitter. "It just inspired me to want to do more, and do better and be stronger. I loved it. Absolutely loved it."

Moved to tears, Frazier thanked the singer, saying her words meant "everything" to her.

At the beginning of the call, Jackson said she would love for Frazier to teach her how to tumble, which the athlete enthusiastically agreed to. "Hopefully I won't break anything!" the artist quipped.

She revealed that she even did a backflip for her "Pleasure Principle" music video, and that people didn't believe it was her doing it.

Jackson concluded the brief chat by saying she'd love to meet Frazier in person when she's back in Los Angeles, and joked to the gymnast that she wanted to say good luck instead of "break a leg."

Earlier this month, Jackson tweeted praise for Frazier's Feb. 10 performance in which she channeled the singer's moves in a routine set to her music.

"#iLuvIT @IAmMargzetta!!!" Jackson wrote.

Frazier was understandably overcome after being noticed by her idol and tweeted, "WOKE UP SCREAMING I LOVE YOU I AM SO HAPPY THAT YOU LIKE IT!!! YOU ARE WHY I LOVE TO DANCE"

And as it turned out, Jackson's call seemed to energize Frazier, who set two new personal bests against the University of Utah later that day.

"She's never been like that on beam," head coach Chris Waller told The Los Angeles Times.

The junior scored a career-high after a career-low in the same meet. Following the mistake, Waller encouraged Frazier by referencing Jackson, saying "Janet didn't make it to where she was by not bouncing back."

"She is the reason why I love gymnastics," Frazier said after the meet. "I really try my best to make it a performance to entertain and that's because of her."

UCLA gymnasts certainly have a knack for going viral; last February, a video of Nia Dennis' floor routine choreographed to Beyoncé hits racked up over 3.6 million views. And in 2019, Katelyn Ohashi's electrifying routine set to Michael Jackson, Tina Turner, and Earth, Wind & Fire earned her a perfect score and more than 147 million views on YouTube.

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