Over four years ago, Janet Jackson and Justin Timberlake performed a duet during the Super Bowl halftime show on CBS. Of course we all remembered how that ended, with Justin ripping part of her top and her breast was exposed for millions worldwide to see. This caused such controversy and pretty much ushered in the politically correct coverage we see in sports and entertainment today.
Now everything people say and do is analyzed ad nauseum to the point we wonder why celebrities should bother saying how they feel if this is the reaction they are going to get? This is probably the only time where the halftime show upstaged the Super Bowl. I don't think anyone outside of Patriots fans remembered who won that year. Which is rather sad because, despite being a Patriots hater myself, it was a great game to watch. CBS, of course, pretty much let Janet and Justin(namely Janet) take the fall for this after getting tons of emails and calls from viewers who were outraged at what they saw.
However the FCC fined CBS for the wardrobe malfunction and that process has been in the courts for the past four years. Today, the federal appeals court threw out CBS's fine for the "wardrobe malfunction".
When I originally watched this unfold, I, of course, was bothered by it. I have no desire to see Janet's nipple or anyone else's for that matter. However, it would be hypocritical of me to condemn her because she wore an S&M outfit beforehand. There was no issue. We see half-naked cheerleaders at these games and nobody had an issue. We were watching a violent sport in the process. Again, there was no issue. But behold she flashes a tit and its the worst thing to ever happen.
I do not understand this country's puritan view of sex especially when you have shows like "The Bachelor" that are still on the air. Yet Janet flashing her nipple is the worst thing to happen? Seriously? Look, I understand how people did not want their kids to see this but these are the same people that let their kids watch football and it's a violent sport. I'm sure these kids see plenty of violence in their video games, hear it in music, and watch it in movies. While there is outrage over that, to an extent, it is not nearly as great as it is when sex and nudity are involved.
The things I took from this whole controversy are: that we are a country of double standards that has never changed and a person of color will receive the brunt of negative judgment for this type of controversy, as evidenced by the T.O./ Nicolette Sheridan MNF skit which aired a few months later after this.
Justin recovered janet didnt