Behind the Scenes of Janet Jackson’s Halftime Show With Justin Timberlake

The wardrobe malfunction that sidelined a career, Janet Jackson and Justin Timberlake’s infamous halftime show at Super Bowl XXXVIII will be examined in the FX and New York Times special, “Malfunction: The Dressing Down of Janet Jackson.”

“In 2004, a culture war was brewing when the Super Bowl halftime show audience saw a white man expose a Black woman’s breast for 9/16ths of a second,” according to the special’s description. “A national furor ensued. ‘If the culture wars could have a 9/11, it’s February 1st, 2004,’ said one observer.”

The synopsis continued, “The woman was Janet Jackson, and her career was never the same. The man was Justin Timberlake; his stardom only grew. The New York Times examines the racial and cultural currents that collided on the Super Bowl stage, and explores how the incident impacted one of the most successful pop musicians in history.”

So what really happened? Here’s what you need to know:

Jackson’s Breast Was Exposed in ‘Nipplegate’

Janet Jackson was announced as the Super Bowl XXXVIII halftime performer in December 2003, according to a timeline of the scandal that would become known as “Nipplegate.” Leading up the performance, her choreographer teased the show would have “shocking moments,” Us Weekly added.

As a surprise, Timberlake joined the famous singer for a performance of his song “Rock Your Body.” As he sang, “Gonna have you naked by the end of this song,” he ripped Jackson’s bodice and exposed her right breast. As the publication noted, “the performance abruptly ended.”

The night of the performance, MTV issued an apology, “The tearing of Janet Jackson’s costume was unrehearsed, unplanned, completely unintentional and was inconsistent with assurances we had about the content of the performance. MTV regrets this incident occurred and we apologize to anyone offended by it.”

Timberlake also apologized that night and again at the Grammy Awards. As a part of an agreement with CBS so he could attend the ceremony, he said during an acceptance speech, “I know it’s been a rough week on everybody. What occurred was unintentional, completely regrettable and I apologize if you guys are offended.”

Per the request of CBS, according to Us Weekly, Jackson issued a statement. It said, “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. 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.”

MTV pointed the blame at the “Rhythm Nation” singer, while her team claimed Timberlake was only supposed to remove the top layer of fabric “to reveal a bustier underneath,” Us Weekly reported. Either way, it was clear who took the fall.

Her “Damita Jo” album was released in March 2004 and “was considered a commercial disappointment,” Us Weekly explained. It was Jackson’s first album since 1984 to not hit number 1 the week of its release. Timberlake’s career continued to take off.

Was it on Purpose?

Was it on purpose? That was the question on everyone’s mind and one USA Today explored when Timberlake returned to the Super Bowl stage in 2018.

The publication reached out to her tailor, Marcello Garzon,  who revealed that he signed a confidentiality agreement. However, body piercer Byriah Dailey claimed he provided the sunburst nipple shield seen on Jackson’s exposed nipple, saying she only bought one of the pair.  Dailey told USA Today that her stylist, Wayne Scot Lukas,  teased, “Ok, watch the halftime show. There’s going to be a surprise at the end.”

Was that surprise simply Timberlake?

Producer Sallie Fattini told the outlet, “There was a meeting right prior to the halftime (show). 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.” She revealed another version of the move involved a skirt being ripped off.

The moment happened so quickly that NFL Executive Jim Steeg did not even notice it as he told the publication. Still, other viewers did notice. As Us Weekly revealed, the FCC received more than 500,000 complaints. A $550,000 fine issued to CBS for the incident was later overturned.

Jackson did not provide a comment to USA Today at the time.

“Malfunction: The Dressing Down of Janet Jackson” premieres on November 19, 2021, at 10 p.m. on FX and to stream on Hulu.

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