SCANDAL? Janet Jackson exposes her breast during Super Bowl
JANET JACKSON and JUSTIN TIMBERLAKE made headlines Sunday with their Super Bowl half-time performance that left the pop singer half-dressed!
-> THE PICTURES:
Janet's breast exposed
Janet's breast exposed [Close-up]
-> THE VIDEO:
Download here ("Save target as...")
Wearing black capri pants, a studded corset and a ruffled white train, Janet was the star performer of the pop extravaganza. She sang her hits "All for You" and "Rhythm Nation," before being joined by surprise guest Justin to sing his smash, "Rock Your Body." At the end of their duet, however, Justin reached up and ripped off a piece of Janet's top, exposing her right breast to the crowd! She hurriedly covered her chest and headed offstage.
CBS, which aired the game, said it
"deeply regrets the incident" which
"did not conform to CBS broadcast standards."
Justin also released this statement:
"I am sorry if anyone was offended by the wardrobe malfunction." Janet echoed the network and Justin's regrets with a statement released by her publicist saying:
"The incident was due to a wardrobe malfunction, which SHE deeply regrets. She sincerely hopes she did not offend anyone. It was not intentional." And
MTV, which produced the show, said the incident was
"unrehearsed, unplanned, completely unintentional."
So what was rehearsed, planned and intended for the show's finale? Janet's camp is reportedly saying that at the end of the half-time show, Justin was to pull off only half of the leather bustier to reveal a red, lacy bra Janet was wearing underneath.
Janet released a second statement further explaining the incident:
"The decision to have a costume reveal at the end of my half-time show performance was made after final rehearsals. MTV was completely unaware of it. It was not my intention that it go as far as it did. I apologize to anyone offended -- including the audience, MTV, CBS and the NFL."
KIDS WATCH SUPER BOOB
When
Janet Jackson displayed half of her assets at
Sunday's Super Bowl halftime show, the kids were watching.
Super Bowl XXXVIII, featuring Jackson's under-investigation right breast, was the prime-time week's most-watched show among tykes aged 2-5, not to mention grade-schoolers aged 6-11 and adolescents aged 12-17.
The big game averaged 89.8 million viewers, easily the most-watched show of the TV week ended Sunday, according to Nielsen Media Research. Nearly 60 million remained in their Barcaloungers for CBS' postgame show.
JACKSON MAY BACK OUT OF GRAMMY AWARDS
As three major TV networks shifted broadcast plans in reaction to the racy Super Bowl halftime show,
Janet Jackson's publicist said she may back out of Sunday's
Grammy Awards and
Justin Timberlake admitted his own family was offended by the pop stars' stunt.
Timberlake on Wednesday insisted he thought only Jackson's bustier would be revealed, not her breast, when he yanked at her costume. He said he understood
"how unfortunate this is."
"I do understand that there were a lot of people that were completely offended by what happened, including my own family. And I think that's probably the part that's frustrating the most for me, and it's completely, completely, completely, regrettable," he told KCBS-TV outside the Staples Center, where he was rehearsing for the Grammys.
Jackson, meanwhile, is thinking twice about appearing for the Grammys telecast, her publicist,
Steven Huvane, told CNN.
"We don't think she's going to go," he said.
The one-second flashing revealed Jackson's right breast clad only in a sun-shaped nipple covering to some 89 million viewers.
The singer has issued videotaped and written apologies and denied that the NFL, CBS or MTV, which produced the halftime show for CBS, knew of her plans. Jackson's spokeswoman said a red lace garment was supposed to remain.
Timberlake said he received a call before the show from Jackson and her choreographer saying they wanted to do a
"costume reveal."
"Now I was under the impression that what was going to be revealed in the costume reveal was a red brassiere, bustier," he said.
Timberlake said he didn't have time to rehearse it before taking the stage and was stunned by the outcome.
"I mean I was completely shocked and appalled, and all I could say was 'Oh my God, Oh my God,'" he said.
FCC TO EXAMINE SUPER BOWL HALFTIME SHOW
CBS,
MTV, the
NFL,
Justin Timberlake and
Janet Jackson are all sorry — but none of that is deterring the federal government from looking into the Super Bowl's too-revealing halftime show.
Federal Communications Commission chief Michael Powell on Monday promised an investigation into whether
CBS violated decency laws, with potential fines of up to
$27,500. If applied to each
CBS station, the fine could reach into the
millions.
"Like millions of Americans, my family and I gathered around the television for a celebration. Instead, that celebration was tainted by a classless, crass and deplorable stunt," Powell said in a statement.
NBC EXCISES 'ER' BREAST SCENE
Days after
Janet Jackson shocked the nation by baring her breast during the Super Bowl,
NBC has agreed to edit out a brief shot of an 80-year-old woman's breast from Thursday night's episode of medical drama "ER" -- to the chagrin of the show's executive producer.
In other breast-related developments:
- Filmmaker
Spike Lee, speaking to Kent State University students in Ohio Tuesday, called Jackson's display a
"new low."
"What's gonna be next? It's getting crazy, and it's all down to money. Money and fame," the
Do the Right Thing director said.
According to the campus newspaper, the Daily Kent Stater,
Lee also picked on Cold Mountain for depicting the Civil War minus black people.
-
"People who live in glass houses" resident
Sharon Osbourne told her daytime talk-show audience she, for one, [b]loved[b] Jackson and Timberlake's routine.
In the episode to air in an off-hours time slot somewhere Wednesday,
Osbourne urged
Jackson to show
both breasts next time.
"Not just one--both!", Osbourne said.
sources: Reuters, E! Online, Associated Press