Apologies all round from those involved in the half time show at this weekend's Super Bowl as American Football fans the world over recover from the apparent shock of getting a flash of Janet Jackson's right breast. It was all Justin Timberlake's fault. He was the surprise guest at the MTV produced half time musical bash - but in an ill advised move Mr Timberlake accidentally pulled off a piece of Ms Jackson's costume, exposing more of the singer than was planned. More humorous than the slip up itself was the apologies that followed:
Timberlake: "I am sorry if anyone was offended by the wardrobe malfunction during the halftime performance at the Super Bowl. It was not intentional and is regrettable."
MTV: "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."
CBS (who screen the Superbowl): "CBS deeply regrets the incident that occurred during the Super Bowl halftime show. We attended all rehearsals throughout the week and there was no indication that any such thing would happen. The moment did not conform to CBS broadcast standards and we would like to apologize to anyone who was offended."
Via: CMU
Article comments
— go to most recent comments1 - RP
When the next generation finds itself in a bazooka-wielding, Mad Maxian future, killing each other for sport and living in forts built of their own feces, we can all look back at this moment and say... "That was it. That was the moment we lost them entirely." Damn you, Janet, with your evil and crazy boob.
2 - Jonathan
Am I the only one who sees Micheal Jackson everytime he looks at Janet?
3 - sdc
The music is usually bad enough (and especially so this time), but CBS has to add porn to the halftime show? How low will these guys go?
The 2.5$ million for 30 seconds was sure wasted on me! I wouldn't buy from anyone who sposored that trash.
4 - Asherde
I guess if the brother can wear one glove, she can wear.......
5 - Asherde
I guess if the brother can wear one glove, she can wear.......
6 - Michele
What's the big deal,there's alot worse out there that's happening,plus they flash all the time if you watch wrestling.
7 - Eric Olsen
I love that: "wardrobe malfunction"
8 - AntFreeze
I would hope that this half-ass half-time pornorama would finally get people to wake up and stop supporting the "ME ME ME" crowd. Featuring one mental midget searching in vain for his miniscule penis throughout his entire
"performance", and then the slightly less effeminate version of Michael Jackson being dry humped and disrobed in front of millions of families. I believe their puny minds may have recently discovered the word titillation in a dictionary and took it too literally. Then to immediately spew the unconvincing lie about a "wardrobe malfunction". That's rich. The problem is, so are they. Only we can prevent assholes from perpetuating their assholiness in our directions. We make em, it's time to break em.
9 - don'tphaseme
I can't believe everyone is getting so worked up. Her nipple was covered. Some of the women in the commercials show almost as much skin. We see buttcheeks hanging out of the cheerleaders uniforms and breasts bulging out of the sides and nobody blinks an eye. Show a little bit more and everyone acts like they've never seen a boob. I'm sure it was done intentionally (after all, who wears nipple shields like that everyday) Justin had to "one up" Brittanys performance with Madonna and Janet figured this would take some of the attention off her brother Michael. I'd rather explain to my kids that they 'accidently' showed too much of someone's body than why two women are kissing. I've seen worse on commercials, like that women lustily riding the mechanical bull while drooling over a stupid burger, that's just weird to me.
10 - reggie
i think you just have to put the boob shot in the context of an earlier cbs decision not to air moveon.org's advocacy ad for fear it would offend our sensibilties to talk about the deficit on super bowl sunday.
instead we get ads for erectile dysfunction, an ad featuring a monkey propositioning a woman, a flatulent horse, a man wearing a kilt venting his crotch on the street, a car ad where the unspoken punchline is “holy shit”.
and of course janet jackson's right breast. thanks for trying not to offend anybody cbs. . .
11 - don'tphaseme
WELL PUT REGGIE!!! I agree. You should write and tell CBS that. You are absolutely right!!
12 - Anthony
Damn you guys are uptight.
13 - reggie
anthony, i'm not complaining about the breast -- per se. if this was europe a breast wouldn't even be an issue. only in this country do we get worked up about breasts in public. but i do think it is fair to compare the superbowl ads shown on cbs with the one they didn't want to air. where's the consistency? lewdness, fart jokes, and nudity, but say the president is running up the national debt and people might get upset?!
14 - G-zero
Top Ten Things that should have been written on Janet Jackson’s breast to make a statement during last night’s Superbowl:
10. Go Pats!/Go Cats!
9. This Space For Rent
8. Pepsi is the One
7. Tired of Spam?
6. Fight Illiteracy
5. Free Elections in Iraq
4. Justin + Brittany 4-Ever!
3. Say ‘No’ to Pornography
2. Anyone But Bush Again
And the number one phrase that should have been written on Janet Jackson’s breast:
1. Free Michael!
15 - ghost
I think that people in America today are too sensitive. A boob, a fart, it doesnt really matter as long as it is an excuse for people to complain that their freedom to be idiotically offended over nothing can be upheld. Who was not born to a mother with breasts? Who has never seen a breast? I know at least the women have them, so thats at least 51%. If you look at regular television programming today, you will see it filled with blood and gore and unspeakable violence. In America this is OK, but a little bit of the natural human form is taboo. This says something about this nation's values. And by the way, if something offends you, you have the freedom to not look, not watch, not expose yourself (and it is the parents' resonsibility to do this for their children) to such things that cause the offense. Grow up and take on your own responibilities.
16 - foronceandforall
Well ghost, I don't have a problem with her baring her breast, I thought it kind of amusing. The problem is in your statement "don't watch it or look away" She didn't afford anyone that opportunity because nobody knew it was coming. Nobody had the chance to turn the channel before being exposed to that display. People tuned in to watch a sports game, who knew they were gonna get a boob shot. I do think the timing was poor, since they had school age children on the field and had a tribute to the people lost in the shuttle accident and their families were in attendance. It was bad judgement. Who knew that I'd have to "sensor" a football game for my children!
17 - ghost
Well, knowing what is common among professional atheletes (assault and murder)and rock/pop stars (drugs, alcohol, assault, vulgarity, lewdness, nudity, public displays of sexuality, etc) these days, it doesnt take a rocket scientist to figure out that things might not be as wholesome as one would wish they would be. Unless you arrived to this country in a box five minutes before the game, then you would know what to expect.
18 - foronceandforall
Well, I was born and raised here. Been in the US all my life. Obviously the boob thing wouldn't have been such a shocker to CBS, Mtv, NFL, etc if it were "expected" Professional sports events televised do NOT have and NEVER has had, nudity!! So, therefore it was not "expected" and your comment is absurd! Are you saying, it's ok for athletes to murder, since it has been done in the past it is "expected"? I know they are not wholesome, nobody is these days that I know of, but to rip her shirt like that, what message does that send to our youth. The young kids are so impressionable these days, you just watch, someone somewhere will try that same move on a girl with the 'excuse' Justin did it. Kids love to do stupid things and blame it on media. Hell, we've got overweight people going to McDonalds, stuffing themselves, and then sueing McDonalds for making them fat when they were fat before they walked through the door. That's the thing with this world, you NEVER know what to expect so don't portray yourself as though YOU do. Nothing much surprises me these days but do I "expect" most of it, NO.
female- age 33, 3 children (boys) and a very good mother whose kids know right from wrong. Doesn't mean they won't do something wrong but I'm not EXPECTING it. Get my point??
19 - ex_navyordie
I think the fact that Janet had this obviously planned from the very beginning just shows that she feels that THE RULES we all have to live by apply to everyone BUT the JACKSONS beit Michael or any of his siblings. Wardrobe malfunction my ARSE!! Was I offended, absolutely and it isn't because I am unfamiliar with the female anatomy, it is because there is a time and place for everything and watching Sunday night football in the privacy of my own home in my livingroom with my kids isn't THE TIME OR PLACE for such bad taste. Had I been watching the Playboy channel I would have been expecting this, but then again my children wouldn't have been in the room being exposed to the lewdness either.
Our problem isn't that there aren't rules against these types of "ACTS", our problem is that people Like Janet, Michael (the Molester) and even Justin feel that the rules (even the laws) don't apply to them. I found NOTHING cute about Janet or her performance regardless of how beautiful her breast may or may not be!!
As for seeing the same thing on Wrestling, my kids can no longer watch the show because of how sexual the content has become over the past 2 years and it is to the point where it is outright perverted!!
NUFF SAID!!
20 - Ash
When Justin came out singing "Rock Your Body" I just KNEW that some form of nudity was going to happen. We are lucky we only saw her boob. If you listen to the lyrics as he ripped off her top he says "I'm gonna have you naked by the end of this song" I expected them to go further with it than what they did. Lil' Kim wore an outfit with one breast out with paint and rhinestones on her nipple for an awards show and she did not get this much attention for it. I think it's all overrated and should be left alone. We're one of the only countries in the world that looks at nudity as bad. The human body is a beautiful piece of art and should not be treated as something bad.
21 - ghost
I was also born and raised here. Because of that I have been exposed to many things (on television, radio, and in person). I am certainly not saying that it is ok that these crimes happen, just that I am not surprised when they do. Like reggie said in his/her posting, if the Super Bowl was produced in Europe, there would probably be nudity up and down every commercial. And I think that is fine. I think we have more rapists and sexual deviants when we make human form and sexualiy taboo. What you will not see as much of in Europe is the violence. If a family is watching the Super Bowl (or any program for that matter)and you see nudity or violence or whatever thing it is you wish your children not to see, turn to them and tell them what is wrong with what they just saw. (By the way, this is not a personal attack on you, I have no reason to think that you are a bad parent) People these days are not parenting their kids, they are too lazy and rely on the television to raise their kids for them. This is a problem. I totally agree with your anger in the fats suing McD's and the like, it is ridiculous. I also heard that a family is suing a cable company for its addictive nature being the cause of his, his wife's, and his kids' laziness and obesity (apparently the kids school failure is the tv company's fault as well). This country is going down the tube if its judicial system allows for these absurd actions of lazy individuals.
22 - ghost
I think Janet had no clue it was to happen. If you see her face just after, she looks pissed. I think Justin was pissed at her for dumping him and thought he would get back at her in front of the world. It worked. Im not saying that is is OK or was EXPECTED, but I really think it worked for his angry little self.
23 - J
What I want to know is what WAS the intended result of Timberlake's action?
Was a portion of the outfit supposed to tear away, or what?
24 - foronceandforall
Hi ghost,
Thank you for the post. We are in agreement on a lot of things. I apologize if my previous post sounded harsh, sometimes I get caught up in the moment and type faster than I think, lol. I was thinking the same thing about Janet, she looked completely shocked, but then I realized, she does have acting experience, she could have very well been acting. I was looking at the photo of her attire. It appears she had a red bra on underneath the leather number. I was wondering if Justin was supposed to rip off the black part and expose the bra but it went awry. Then I started thinking further and most bras don't 'snap' in front unless they are maternity/nursing bras so she must have worn it with a purpose in mind. If I were planning a "stunt" where someone was to remove one garmet but not the other I would be sure they weren't both snapping garmets for that very reason. Plus the move was so smooth, it happened so quick. I think if it were unplanned he might have fumbled, she may not have been positioned just right for him to reach over like he did, he wouldn't have done it because he wouldn't have known that it opened up that way, etc. Plus, those were some uncomfortable looking nipple decorations. I don't think she would have reason to wear them had she not wanted them seen. Just my opinion. It looked too choreographed.
25 - paul
What's the big deal!
What year is this 1950? It's a bloody breast! It was mearly exposed for a few seconds. The only reason it's a big deal, is because people are make it a big deal. No one seem to talk about the Bud commercial with the two girls french kissing. That my friends was erotic.
Paul