Everything You Need to Know About Nipplegate
On Sunday night, Man of the Woods Justin Timberlake, is set to perform the Super Bowl Halftime Show. Announced back in October, Timberlake's impending performance has everyone thinking about what happened the last time he performed at a Super Bowl Halftime Show.
Nipplegate.
Though Timberlake has recently suggested that Janet Jackson will not join him onstage (The Root breaks down Timberlake's comments well), that doesn't mean the 2004 incident won't be on everyone's minds while the New England Patriots and the Philadelphia Eagles go head-to-head during Super Bowl LII (that's 52 for everyone who thinks Roman numerals are as pointless as I do).
Here's a refresher about the most infamous wardrobe malfunction in history, which happened fourteen (yes, fourteen) years ago.
What happened during Janet Jackson's Super Bowl XXXVIII Halftime Show performance?
During Janet Jackson’s 2004 Super Bowl Halftime Show performance, the pop superstar performed a medley of her best hits including "All for You," "Rhythm Nation" and "The Knowledge" before surprising audiences with a special appearance by Justin Timberlake. They turned Timberlake’s Justified hit "Rock Your Body" into a duet.
During the live broadcast, Timberlake ripped off part of Jackson’s Alexander McQueen-designed bustier, revealing her right breast and jewelry-clad nipple while singing the song’s final line: "gonna have you naked by the end of this song."
Before the cameras cut to a shot of the fireworks surrounding the stage, Jackson’s nipple was seen by hundreds of millions of viewers - for less than a second.
What was supposed to happen during Janet Jackson and Justin Timberlake's Superbowl Halftime Show performance?
CBS, The NFL, and MTV all claimed they had absolutely zero knowledge of the stunt prior to the event.
Jackson's team revealed that when Timberlake sang the last line of "Rock Your Body," he was supposed to reveal Jackson's red lace bra, "but the garment collapsed."
MTV, the producers of the show, stated, "The tearing of Janet Jackson's costume was unrehearsed, unplanned, completely unintentional and was inconsistent with assurances we had about the content of the performance. MTV regrets this incident occurred and we apologize to anyone who was offended by it."
MTV Chief Executive Officer Tom Freston also plainly told Reuters that "Janet Jackson engineered it."
What Happened to Justin Timberlake After Nipplegate?
Timberlake told Access Hollywood, "We love giving you all something to talk about."
Timberlake performed, presented, and won at the 2004 Grammy Awards the following week. He apologized onstage for the incident saying, "What occurred was unintentional, completely regrettable and I apologize if you guys are offended."
Timberlake is credited with coining the term "wardrobe malfunction."
Justified sales skyrocketed in the week following the broadcast
Timberlake Went on to become one of the bestselling and most-beloved entertainers of the 21st century.
What Happened to Janet Jackson After Nipplegate?
Jackson was blacklisted by MTV, CBS, and Infinity Broadcasting, and her new single was immediately pulled from stations worldwide. Her first album following Nipplegate, Damita Jo, is one of her worst-selling albums.
Jackson was disinvited from the 2004 Grammy Awards. She was originally scheduled to appear as a presenter.
Jackson was originally cast as Lena Horne in an upcoming biopic about the singer and activist but ABC reportedly forced her to quit.
Disney World removed their Janet Jackson-inspired statue of Mickey Mouse.
CBS forced Jackson to make both a written and video apology after Nipplegate.
What Else Happened After Nipplegate?
MTV was banned from producing a Super Bowl Halftime Show again.
"Janet Jackson" was the #1 search for Lycos, Google, and Yahoo the following week.
CBS was fined $550,000 by the The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) for Nipplegate, although the FCC officially lost the case in 2011.
The FCC also received reportedly over 200,000 complaints about the performance, leading to a five-second delay on future live television events.
Did Janet Jackson and Justin Timberlake Stay Friends After Nipplegate?
Uh, well, not immediately afterwards. In 2006, Janet Jackson told OprahWinfrey that the two weren't talking.
"We haven’t spoken. But I consider him a friend, and I’m very loyal, and friendship is very important to me," she said, "He has reached out to speak with me. Like I said, friendship is very important to me – and certain things you just don’t do to friends. And in my own time, I’ll give him a call."
Two years after Nipplegate, Timberlake officially apologized in an interview with MTV. "I probably got 10 percent of the blame, and that says something about society," he said in 2006. "I think that America’s harsher on women. And I think that America is, you know, unfairly harsh on ethnic people."
According to JT the two are now cool, telling Beats 1 Radio's Zane Lowe that, "You can’t change what’s happened, but you can move forward and learn from it."
And that, friends, is your brief brush-up on Nipplegate. So, do you think it was planned?
In the meantime, Timberlake released his fifth studio album Man of the Woods and critics were not impressed that sung about a vagina being a "faucet."
