( CNN ) -- The notoriously private Janet Jackson opened up about her brother 's death on `` The Oprah Winfrey Show '' Friday , admitting that the family knew he had a problem . `` People think we were in denial but we were n't . We tried intervention several times . He was very much in denial -- he did n't think he had a problem . '' When the news first broke that Michael was ill , Jackson said she first heard about it from an assistant while she was home in New York . The last time she saw her brother was about a month before , she said , at a party she had thrown for their parents . `` He was thin then , and we knew that he had a problem ; we all did , '' she said . His death , she told Winfrey , is `` hard to believe still to this day . There is n't a day that goes by that I do n't think about it -- that all of us in the family do n't think about it -- every single day . '' Her brother 's passing happened right as Janet Jackson had started production on Tyler Perry 's new film , `` Why Did I Get Married Too ? '' and the emotional turmoil she was in comes through in the film , Winfrey said . `` It was very therapeutic , '' Jackson said of her role . Tyler Perry , she added , was by her side the entire time , asking her how she wanted to be treated on set , making sure no one had access to images of Jackson crying in character ( lest a tabloid run them as evidence of what Jackson was going through at the time ) , and even changing the ending of the movie , which opens nationwide Friday , for her . `` I changed the ending because at first she was going to speak at the funeral , and the things that she was going to say , it was too eerie , '' Perry , who also was on the show , told Winfrey . `` She did n't want to change it , but I did . '' Veering from the topic of his movie , Perry told Winfrey he felt the need to reiterate how hard the Jackson family worked to try to save their brother . `` I 'm sorry , but I want people to know this , '' Perry said . `` I want people to know how much they tried . They really , really tried -- the entire family . I want the whole world to know how much they tried . '' The family was worried , Jackson said , and did several interventions . At one of them , Jackson said she became so overwhelmed , `` seeing him and knowing that there was an issue that he was in denial about , '' she had to leave the room . `` A lot of the relationships I 've been in , they 've had issues with addiction . It 's difficult when you see it . [ I ] recognize it so quickly because I 've dealt with it in past relationships . '' For Jackson , it 's difficult to even look at pictures of Michael as an adult or listen to his music ; the only images she can stand to view are those of the pair as children . `` When we were kids , we had so much fun together , '' she said . `` We used to spend every day , all day , together . I have a beautiful picture in my home of he and I when we were just babies . It takes me to that place , even when he was still here , that I missed , that we would talk about . That [ picture ] I can look at . '' The emotional turmoil Jackson was dealing with , both in her role in Perry 's movie as well as personally , began to affect her physically as well : Jackson said she 's definitely an emotional eater . `` When I 'm feeling down , I do turn to food , '' she told Winfrey . Her struggle with her weight has even led Jackson to write a book about it , to answer those persistent questions everyone always has about her weight . `` Instead of writing about nutrition , I decided to go into my childhood , where I 've always had issues with my weight , '' Jackson said , adding that the book would touch on issues like self-confidence as well .
Eventually Jackson opened up about her new movie and life after her brother 's death . Jackson said her role in Tyler Perry 's ` ` Why Did I Get Married Too ? '' was very therapeutic . Jackson said she thinks about Tyler 's death every day . She added that the producers knew he had a problem , and tried to intervene .