Was Justin Timberlake and Janet Jackson’s Super Bowl Costume Rip Planned?
Janet Jackson is a legend in the entertainment industry. After more than 40 years in the spotlight, she has continued to thrive. However, following #Nipplegate and the 2004 Super Bowl Halftime show involving Justin Timberlake, Jackson’s career stumbled for a time.
Did the former boy-bander plan to humiliate Jackson on purpose?
What did Justin Timberlake do to Janet Jackson?
During his rise to fame with NSYNC, Timberlake spoke warmly about Jackson and her brother, Michael Jackson. He had long admired the Control icon and jumped at the chance to perform with her at the 2004 Super Bowl Halftime Show.
The singers’ performance of Timberlake’s hit song, “Rock Ur Body,” was going well until near the end of the song when Timberlake ripped Jackson’s top, exposing her breast to fans in the stadium and millions of fans across the globe.
It was humiliating for Jackson, who stood there in shock. All of the blame was then placed on The Velvet Rope singer. She was banned from the Grammys. Her album, Damita Jo, was one of the biggest flops of her career. Meanwhile, Timberlake thrived as a solo artist, never even apologizing to Jackson.
“He was to take and rip the piece that he did but more came off than was supposed to… it was a very embarrassing moment,” Jackson told explained on The Oprah Winfrey Show in 2006.
Justin Timberlake apologized to Janet Jackson after 17 years
Though there have been calls for Timberlake to apologize for years, he has only now being held to task by society for throwing the Rythm Nation 1814 singer under the bus almost two decades ago. This rose to the surface following the FX/Hulu documentary The New York Times Presents: Framing Britney Spears which highlighted Timberlake’s behavior toward his ex-girlfriend, Britney Spears.
Now, Timberlake is offering Spears and Jackson some overdue apologies. “I am deeply sorry for the times in my life where my actions contributed to the problem, where I spoke out of turn, or did not speak up for what was right,” Timberlake wrote in an Instagram statement. “I understand that I fell short in these moments and in many others and benefited from a system that condones misogyny and racism. I specifically want to apologize to Britney Spears and Janet Jackson both individually because I care for and respect these women and I know I failed.”
Did Justin Timberlake expose Janet Jackson at the Super Bowl on purpose?
For years, there has been speculation that the Super Bowl wardrobe malfunction was done purposefully. Marcello Garzon, Jackson’s tailor who designed the outfit she wore that day signed an NDA before the incident even occurred. “No, sir. That’s confidential,’’ he told USA Today. “That’s really confidential. How do I say that? I signed the papers with Mrs. Jackson to not release anything at all.’’
Salli Frattini, the first woman to produce a Super Bowl halftime show still places the blame solely on Jackson. “There was a meeting right prior to the halftime (show),’’ Frattini said. “The idea was pitched to Justin. Janet’s stylist or whoever else was in the room. (Timberlake) went along with it and the mistake happened.
Meanwhile, Michael Powell, the FCC chairman still blames the artists and the producers. “To this day, despite some ambiguity about who knew what, I think we were relatively convinced that somehow those producing the show knew what was going to happen,’’ he said. “Their story to this day was that they had absolutely no idea on how the artists just did this up on their own. That’s plausible, but didn’t seem to us where the evidence pointed.’’
