The shoe has finally fallen in the Janet Jackson Super Bowl halftime exposure affair, with the FCC fining CBS $550K for "allowing" the indiscretion (I'm not sure how they could have prevented it short of divine intervention).
Does anyone remember what happened? It seems years ago, the halftime show at the Feb 1 Super Bowl in Houston, televised on CBS, in which an already tawdry pageant of bumping-and-grinding and crotch-grabbing entered uncharted territory when Justin Timberlake, flirting with Jackson through his "Rock Your Body," sang the fateful lines: "I'm gonna have you naked by the end of this song."
True to his word, Timberlake then ripped away the self-proclaimed "Miss Nasty's" right breastplate, exposing her for all the world to see save for a star-like device we have subsequently come to know as a "nipple shield."
Though Jackson was exposed for only a moment before covering herself, the incident — which might have passed with relatively little hoopla in an earlier era due to its brevity and the general commotion — was recorded by millions of Americans on their handy new TiVOs, spread almost instantly across the Internet (where it became the most searched-for image ever), and replayed in slow motion ad infinitum (with strategic masking) by cable news channels that could scarcely contain their glee over the titillation of it all.
Timberlake added an instantly classic new term to the lexicon when he flippantly tossed the incident off as a "wardrobe malfunction." He's a funny guy as well as a wardrobe "malfuncter."
Reaction was swift and heavy-handed. Commissioner Paul Tagliabue distanced the NFL from the proceedings, issuing the following statement: "We were extremely disappointed by the MTV-produced halftime show. It was totally inconsistent with assurances our office was given about the content of the show. The show was offensive, inappropriate and embarrassing to us and our fans. We will change our policy, our people and our processes for managing the halftime entertainment in the future." And your little dog too.
MTV and CBS both said they had no idea that their halftime show Sunday night would include such a display. Federal Communications Commission chairman Michael Powell called it "a classless, crass and deplorable stunt" and called for, literally, a federal investigation. With potential fines of up to $27,500 PER STATION from the FCC, CBS sat up and took notice.
No fools, Jackson's record label Virgin released her single "Just a Little While" the following day, weeks ahead of schedule. Jackson apologized not once but twice, saying that her red lace bra was not supposed to yield to Timberlake's manly tug, and that "in the end it all went wrong." Well, yeah.
Article comments
1 - Mark Saleski
i hope the take the government to court.
if there are rules for what is indecent and what is not, the rules are applied so unevenly as to be laughable (howard stern vs. oprah is a great example of this).
a court action would at least push this issue out front & center.
2 - Eric Olsen
I agree consistency is critical, and there sure hasn't been that
3 - Lono
While I 'spose it wasn't appropriate to whip out titties on live TV on a Sunday afternoon, I thought it was terrific.
When CBS whips out a titty, it's porn
When PBS whips out a titty, anthropology
When HBO whips out a titty, it's an Emmy
4 - Eric Olsen
great one Lono, very funny, and not untrue
5 - Phil
You didn't touch at all on just how creepy of an orginization the FCC is. Unelected, presidentially appointed people are in charge of what we can and can't see on TV? Isn't there something messed up about that?
6 - Eric Olsen
in theory, Congress passes the laws tha the FCC then enforces, but they have a lot of room to interpret and adjudicate and whatnot
7 - P. Downing
It wasn't the sight of the breast or nipple guard. It was Justin ripping off her top - which is the first stage of simulated RAPE.
8 - Eric Olsen
P., I hadn't thought of that, good point - the whole thing in conception and execution was really quite shocking, perhaps even more so in retrospect