Janet Jackson Wardrobe Stylist From 2004 Super Bowl Slams Justin Timberlake
More is being revealed about the fallout from the alleged wardrobe malfunction that occurred during the 2004 Super Bowl halftime show featuring Janet Jackson and Justin Timberlake. Millions of viewers watched as Timberlake tore a piece of Jackson’s top at the end of their performance, leaving her breast exposed that was covered by a decorative pastry. Jackson took the fall for the incident, while Timberlake was left unscathed.
But now, Jackson’s former wardrobe stylist Wayne Scot Lukas is speaking out, denouncing a wardrobe malfunction and slamming Timberlake in the process. He says Jackson got a bad deal.
Janet Jackson was blamed for the scandal
During the new Hulu and FX documentary, Senior VP of MTV Salli Frattini, claims that Jackson and Lukas purchased new fabric and a starburst nipple cover at the last minute, after the initial wardrobe was approved. She claims Timberlake arrived at the stadium the day of the performance and had no time to prepare.
Related: Everything We Know About Janet Jackson’s Upcoming Documentary
Per Frattini, Timberlake was moved to a room to speak with Jackson and Lukas for “a small conversation that lasted minutes.” She says no producers were present for the conversation.
“My instincts told me that there was a private conversation between wardrobe stylists and artists where someone thought this would be a good idea and it backfired,” Frattini said.
The wardrobe stylist says Janet Jackson does not want to relive the scandal and says he did nothing wrong
Lukas did not appear in the documentary because Jackson asked him to not participate. He told Access Hollywood in a recent interview, “Lukas don’t talk to anybody, just let this go. We’re gonna handle this in January, I’m going to talk about this in January,” he said, referring to Jackson’s upcoming A&E documentary, Janet.
Related: Janet Jackson, Justin Timberlake’s Super Bowl Scandal Explored in New Documentary
After receiving death threats and being viewed as a culprit in the scandal, he decided to speak out. “I was a work for hire, I was hired to do a job and I did exactly what I was supposed to do,” he explained. “If I work with someone who’s a dancer, you have to be able to dance in a wardrobe and it has to never fall apart. I stand 100% by my story that I did exactly what I was supposed to do, what I was hired for, and if I ever hurt my friend, I wouldn’t have worked with Janet for six years after the Super Bowl. I would have been fired that day.”
He says Justin Timberlake was not Janet Jackson’s friend and blames editing on the reveal
Lukas says much of the blame should be placed on the editors in the control room at the end of the performance. “You were never supposed to see a movement where a breast was out, a body part was out. It was never supposed to be lingering on something that they say was this terrible thing for such a long time,” he said. “Wardrobe malfunction? I don’t malfunction,” he continued. “I was a professional stylist, $10,000 a day back then and I can’t fail.”
He continued: “They were supposed to cut to black. You were supposed to get the idea of, ‘I’m gonna have you naked by the end of this song,’ nobody was supposed to be naked. And I’ve never said that. Somebody didn’t push the button. Somebody didn’t protect my friend.”
Lukas says Timberlake abandoned Jackson. “[He] came off the stage and said, ‘it’s just a little wardrobe malfunction, we all want to give you something to think about.’ He coined that phrase,” Lukas said, adding, “And when he said that I thought ‘friendship over.’”
