Janet Jackson's Super Bowl Wardrobe Malfunction - And How Justin Timberlake Got Away Blameless - Reexamined In New Document
"We must never forget what they did to Janet."
That's a sentiment from New York Times cultural writer Jenna Wortham in the new medium documentary Malfunction: Janet Jackson's Wardrobe. It goes back to the "nipple door": wardrobe malfunction of all wardrobe failures, when Justin Timberlake removed a piece of Janet Jackson's costume during the 2004 Super Bowl halftime show, exposing his chest adorned with a nipple ring for nineteen nineteen. of a second, and she paid the price for years to come.
It was all planned, we will never know. Producers of the show, which aired on CBS, and record industry executives give their opinions ("From my point of view, she looked upset," says Matt Serletic, former CEO of Virgin Records in the document. I looked anguished ”). and they suggest that a closed-door meeting was held between choreographer, stylist and talent in which a plan was made to change the last second of the MTV-produced show. But there is no definitive answer as to whether showing a nipple or a bra was the expected result.
The producers could not even get answers because Jackson "fled" after it happened, taking a flight from Houston to Los Angeles and her manager did not return calls, they detailed, saying they felt "betrayed." Meanwhile, Timberlake took it lightly in backstage interviews, saying Entertainment Tonight in stock footage, "Hey man, it's every man's dream."
They both publicly apologized, Jackson twice (print and video), but now-ex-CBS boss Les Moonves, fired from Viacom in 2018 amid allegations of sexual misconduct, deemed them insufficient. Described as having a complex Godfather-type, Moonves wanted face-to-face apologies, which Timberlake drove into his office and apparently gave, while Jackson did not.
"I just don't know if there are any amount of apologies she could have made to assuage the outrage," Wortham said in hindsight.
The Grammys were a week later and Jackson and Timberlake were told they could only appear if they also apologized during the awards show broadcast. Timberlake attended, winning Best Male Pop Vocal Performance for his hit on his ex-girlfriend Britney Spears, “Cry Me a River,” and he apologized again. Jackson withdrew from attending.
An irate Moonves, who declined to comment for the documentary (as did Jackson and Timberlake), allegedly banned Jackson's music from Viacom properties, including Vh1, MTV, and radio stations under his umbrella. There is disagreement as to whether his music was "blacklisted" with a Clear Channel executive saying in the document that there may have been bans in certain regions, upset about the Super Bowl, but not universal. What is not debatable is that Jackson's album, Damita Jo, flopped.
All of that in itself is really interesting to review, but the documentary, from director Jodi Gomes, tries to understand the consequences and how the “Rhythm Nation” singer, a black superstar with decades of professional success, took a piercing blow as Timberlake, a white male rising star, bounced back. (Timberlake acknowledged this in a public apology to Jackson and his ex-girlfriend Spears in February for "times in my life where my actions contributed to the problem" and he "did not speak for what was right" and "benefited from a system that approves of misogyny and racism ").
Look back at that time period. How the Jackson-Timberlake malfunction exploded in the midst of the culture wars of the time: rejecting so-called offensive content in music (with warning labels), on television (backlash over Ellen DeGeneres leaving), and in the radio (everything to do with Howard Stern). People used it to set an example, and it had ammunition because it took place on broadcast television during a family viewing event. But Jackson was the one who suffered the fall. There is a clip of legislators, in the middle of the FCC investigation, talking and talking about the offensive "Janet Jackson incident" with a single black congressman, Bobby L. Rush from Illinois, asking: What about Timberlake?
"Janet's chest did not jump," recalls her brother Tito Jackson in a new interview.
As The New York Times Presents… Framing the Britney Spears doc, who sped up the FreeBritney movement, head-shaking stock footage is everywhere. Dave Letterman's interview style, again, doesn't age well. Neither did Matt Lauer, like Moonves fired for inappropriate sexual conduct in the workplace, sharing his analysis of Jackson's nipple ring on the Hoy dia show.
Wortham described the coverage as "misogynoir", misogyny directed towards black women, as old headlines and television comments described Jackson as a "black dominatrix", a "whore", something straight out of an "S&M catalog" and a "bitch". * in heat. "
Jackson also faced age discrimination. "This is a 37-year-old woman, who is almost geriatric in the age of pop music," said one commenter. Chris Rock riffed: “Janet lost her damn mind, getting the t ** ty out of her Sunday afternoon, and a 40-year-old t ** t at that. You can't just pull out a 40-year-old t ** ty ". The New York Times criticized Jackson's chest, describing it in her report as "the normal chest of a middle-aged woman." Another said she was "pathetic of Janet Jackson, who has probably seen the best days of her career."
"What's so painful about that moment was that everything Janet had been working on… was just taken away," Wortham said, looking back. "At that moment. For this white man. "
That brings us to Timberlake. The documentary details how Jackson's album failed and how she ended her record deal with Virgin. The Poetic Justice and Nutty Professor star never made another mainstream movie and she was kicked out of a Lena Horne biopic. Meanwhile, Timberlake kept going up, up, up. Not only in the immediate awakening, as McDonald's sticking to its endorsement deal while a Mickey Mouse statue decked out in a Rhythm Nation outfit was retiring at Disney World, but 14 years later, it landed on the halftime show. of the Super Bowl, described in the document. as "the most obvious proof that almost nothing of that incident stuck with him."
The archival footage of Timberlake is largely a spooky city. Malicious comments about Jackson being "okay" at public events long before they paired up for the Super Bowl. Right after the show, he said, “It was fun. He was quick, slick, straight to the point. Enjoy it".
The doctor also discusses how Timberlake has been accused of profiting from proximity to black culture during his career.
Timberlake, landing on the 2018 Super Bowl show, really helped Jackson. It was October 2017, right when MeToo blew up with the Harvey Weinstein accusations. Social media was inundated with lawsuits from JusticeForJanet and called Timberlake's return to the NFL a classic case of white male privilege. JanetJacksonAppreciationDay, a movement to celebrate the artist, was planned on the day of the Timberlake show. It's something that continues on game day with Jackson springing into action. It was thought that Jackson's move of love would help fuel his induction into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2018.
The film also looks at how a woman who owns her sexuality is now celebrated in 2021, pointing to Ariana Grande, Beyoncé, Cardi B, Megan Thee Stallion and Nicki Minaj, versus how Jackson was treated in 2004.
"Janet Jackson laid all those foundations," said Daneyl Smith, the former Billboard editor-in-chief said in the document, which also noted that FCC Chairman Michael Powell, who led the investigation into the 2004 Super Bowl debacle. , has since said the reaction was overblown.
However, Wortham said he "feels bittersweet" and that "it took too long."
"I am truly grateful to have reached this moment of cultural reckoning and a reassessment of what happened," Wortham said. “But we must never forget what they did to Janet. We must never forget that outrage. What was the cost to this woman? And it was worth it?"
