The Super Bowl XXXVIII halftime show, which was broadcast live on February 1, 2004, from Houston, Texas, on the CBS television network, is notable for a moment in which Janet Jackson's right breast and nipple—adorned with a nipple shield—was exposed by Justin Timberlake to the viewing public. The incident, sometimes referred to as "Nipplegate" or "Janetgate", led to an immediate crackdown and widespread discourse on perceived indecency in broadcasting.
The halftime show was produced by MTV and was focused on the network's Choose or Lose campaign (the year 2004 was a presidential election year in the United States). The exposure was broadcast to a total audience of 150 million viewers. Following the incident, the National Football League (NFL) cut ties with MTV, which had also produced the halftime show for Super Bowl XXXV, excluding the network from future halftime shows. In addition, CBS parent company Viacom and its co-owned subsidiaries, MTV and Infinity Broadcasting, enforced a blacklist of Jackson's singles and music videos on many radio formats and music channels worldwide. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) fined CBS for an indecency violation of $27,500 and increased it to $325,000. They eventually fined CBS a record $550,000 for the incident, but that fine was ultimately voided by the Third Circuit Court of Appeals in 2011, and a case to reinstate the fine was refused in 2012.
The incident was ridiculed both within the United States and abroad, with a number of commentators opining that it was a planned publicity stunt. The next week, Timberlake apologized at the Grammy Awards ceremony, saying Jackson's nipple was accidentally exposed and was meant to be covered by a bright red brassiere. Some American commentators, including Jackson herself, argued it was being used as a means to distract the public from the ongoing Iraq War. The increased regulation of broadcasting raised concerns regarding censorship and free speech in the United States. YouTube co-founder Jawed Karim credits the incident with leading to the creation of the video sharing website. The incident also made Janet Jackson the most-searched person and term of 2004 and 2005, and it broke the record for "most-searched event over one day." It also became the most-watched, recorded, and replayed television moment in TiVo history and "enticed an estimated 35,000 new [TiVo] subscribers to sign up." The term "wardrobe malfunction" was coined as a result of the incident, and eventually added to the Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary.
In April 2021, celebrity stylist Wayne Scot Lukas claimed that the incident was planned by Timberlake, who sought to upstage his ex-girlfriend Britney Spears's MTV Video Music Awards appearance at which she kissed Madonna. This version of events was bolstered by USA Today, which reported in 2018 that Lukas was seen purchasing a sunburst nipple shield the weekend prior to the Super Bowl while allegedly stating to the artist he purchased it from, "OK, watch the halftime show...There's going to be a surprise at the end." In 2015, Lukas had stated that he was not aware of what happened with Timberlake. In the Hulu documentary Malfunction: The Dressing Down of Janet Jackson, released in November 2021, former Super Bowl director Beth McCarthy-Miller and producer Salli Frattini confirmed that Timberlake was informed of the new choreography by Jackson's team 20 minutes before show time after flying into Houston.
Background and development
Janet Jackson was the original choice to perform at the halftime show for Super Bowl XXXVI, but the NFL ultimately selected U2 after a group of NFL owners and officials attended the band's concert in New York City shortly after the September 11 attacks. In September 2003, the NFL chose Jackson as the headline performer of the Super Bowl XXXVIII halftime show. Because the event was occurring during an election year, MTV decided that the show's theme would heavily focus on the network's "Choose or Lose" campaign, which encouraged younger viewers to be politically active and register to vote.
Timberlake had attended Jackson's Rhythm Nation Tour as a kid, and Jackson's energetic dance routines and daring performing style had made a deep impression on him. While Timberlake was a member of pop group 'N Sync, Jackson selected the boy band as the opening act for many dates of her blockbuster Velvet Rope World Tour, which helped promote and introduce the then-relatively unknown group and Timberlake to the public worldwide. While on the tour, Jackson further promoted the group by performing with 'N Sync on several dates, including joining the group for a live a cappella duet of Stevie Wonder's "Overjoyed". Following the tour, Timberlake and Jackson became "good friends", with Jackson also praising Timberlake. Timberlake recreated Jackson's "That's the Way Love Goes" video with 'N Sync and was inspired by Jackson's performing style. Timberlake later asked Jackson to sing backing vocals on "(And She Said) Take Me Now", a song from his debut solo album Justified.
Incident
During the halftime show at Super Bowl XXXVIII on February 1, 2004, Jackson performed a medley of hits, beginning with "All for You", "Rhythm Nation" and a brief excerpt of "The Knowledge". Surprise guest Timberlake then appeared onstage to perform a duet of his song "Rock Your Body" with Jackson. The performance contained several suggestive dance moves by both singers. As Timberlake reached his final line of "Rock Your Body" ("Bet I'll have you naked by the end of this song"), he pulled off a part of Jackson's costume; the move revealed Jackson's right breast—adorned by a sun-shaped nipple shield—for less than a second, after which the CBS broadcast immediately cut to a wide shot of the stage for a pyrotechnic effect, then to an aerial view of NRG Stadium, then known as Reliant Stadium.
Following the Super Bowl, both MTV and CBS apologized for the incident and asserted that they had no prior knowledge that Jackson and Timberlake's duet would involve partial nudity. MTV's CEO Tom Freston claimed in an interview with the Reuters news agency that the exposure was a stunt orchestrated by Jackson. However, an MTV representative confirmed that the costume tear was conceptualized by the MTV staff, but added that nudity was not the intended result. The incident was publicly criticized by NFL commissioner Paul Tagliabue, and NFL executive vice president Joe Browne.
Jackson's representative explained the incident, saying, "Justin was supposed to pull away the rubber bustier to reveal a red lace bra. The garment collapsed and her breast was accidentally revealed." According to Rolling Stone, CBS required Jackson to make a public apology for the incident. Regarding continued backlash, she responded, "Who knows...Maybe they'll get mad at something that I do in my show, but at least it won't be new to me, since I've already gone through all of this. But I feel very positive that things are going to work out just fine. Everything happens for a reason." In January 2018, it was revealed that Jackson asked Marcello Garzon to alter the leather outfit she brought to Houston to wear during the halftime show and signed a confidentiality agreement before altering the garment.
In an interview with Australia's Herald Sun, producer Jimmy Jam revealed Jackson considered writing a song about the incident for her Damita Jo album.