Earlier this week rumors began to swirl that Jermaine Dupri chucked Virgin Records the deuce... yesterday he confirmed to The Associated Press that he has quit as a top executive at Jackson's label, Virgin Records, amid disappointing sales of Jackson's new album.

"Since there are so many rumors running rampant about my position at Virgin Records, I feel that it is necessary to set the record straight," Dupri said Wednesday in a statement released to the AP. "I was not forced out of the company, I made a decision that it was in my best interest to leave."

Dupri, who executive produced Janet's album along with Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis, became head of urban music at Virgin just last year. His abrupt departure comes after the underwhelming performance of Janet's latest release, "20 Y.O." which failed to debut at the top of the charts last month, then steadily fell. It has sold 443,000 copies since its release Sept. 26, according to Nielsen SoundScan.

Tsk. Tsk. Tsk...