10 February 2024 , 11:12
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Super Bowl fans are looking forward to seeing Usher headline this weekend's halftime show, but 20 years on, a shocking wardrobe malfunction is still making people talk.
While Janet Jackson and Justin Timberlake were performing his hit song "Rock Your Body", Justin ripped off part of Janet's outfit briefly exposing her breast for 150 million viewers to see. The plan was for Justin to pull away the bustier of Janet's outfit to show off her red lace bra underneath, but the singer accidentally ripped off the wrong spot and revealed Janet's breast on stage instead.
The brief moment on viewer's screens led to a world of damage to Janet's career and was later referred to as "Nipplegate." The moment went on to lead to the viral hashtag #JusticeForJanet on Twitter as many believe race, gender, and white privilege played a role in how Justin left the situation unscathed and Janet's career suffered.
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The singer at the 2015 BET Awards at the Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles, California (We Love TV)
Janet Jackson performing during the 2022 Essence Festival of Culture at the Louisiana Superdome (Getty Images for Essence)After the incident, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) received half a million complaints from viewers watching the annual NFL game. After the incident, almost all live broadcasts implemented a five-second delay to catch any major live incidents.
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Janet's representatives released a statement to the public to explain how the incident occurred. The statement read: "Justin was supposed to pull away the rubber bustier to reveal a red lace bra. The garment collapsed and her breast was accidentally revealed."
Meanwhile, Justin immediately joked about the situation. He told interviewers: "I love giving y'all something to talk about" and then went on to say that it was "every man's dream" what happened during Janet's performance. Janet, however, did not find the situation comical and was reportedly crying backstage after the performance as her stage manager comforted her and wrapped a blanket around her.
Justin and Janet later both apologised for the mishap. Janet told Rolling Stone: "The decision to have a costume reveal at the end of my halftime show performance was made after final rehearsals. MTV was completely unaware of it."
Justin Timberlake later addressed the fact that Janet was unfairly targeted following the performance (AFP via Getty Images)She continued: "It was not my intention that it go as far as it did. MTV, CBS, [and] the NFL had no knowledge of this whatsoever and, unfortunately, the whole thing went wrong in the end. I apologise to anyone offended, including the audience, MTV, CBS and the NFL."
But the backlash from the incident didn't stop after the pair apologised. Following the malfunction Janet was banned from performing at the 46th Annual Grammy Awards the next week. She was originally set to take the stage alongside Justin, but was later removed from the schedule and uninvited from the event.
However, despite Janet being cut from the show, Justin still attended and performed. At the award show, he was honoured with two awards and addressed his mistake in the absence of Janet during his acceptance speech. During his speech, he laughed and said: "I know it's been a rough week on everybody. What occurred was unintentional, completely regrettable, and I apologise if you guys are offended."
Janet's career suffered (Getty Images)
Justin had been Janet's surprise guest (FilmMagic)After the show, Janet's songs and music videos were blacklisted from MTV and CBS following orders from their parent company Viacom. The next album she released Damito Jo also dropped in popularity compared to her previous albums.
Justin later went on to address the fact that Janet was the one who was unfairly targeted following the performance. In August of 2006, Justin told MTV News: "It's an understatement to say that it was sort of unfair if you consider it 50-50, I probably got 10% of the blame." He continued: "And that says something about society. I think that America's harsher on women, and I think that America's unfairly harsh on ethnic people."
But despite the setback, Janet has since been able to revive her career. The 57-year-old singer wrapped up the tour in June 2023 and drew in an estimated $50.9million (£39.9 million) after selling 479,000 tickets during the span of 37 shows across the United States, marking the highest of any of her previous tours. Next month, she will be on tour again starting from Hawaii, before heading to Philippines, Japan, The Bahamas, and then going on to tour several US states.