The Janet Jackson & Justin Timberlake Super Bowl Halftime Show Controversy Explained

In the 2004 Super Bowl, the New England Patriots may have emerged victorious over the Carolina Panthers, but no one was really talking about Adam Vinatieri's impressive field goal when the game was over. Instead, all attention was on what was to be dubbed "Nipplegate."

The halftime show that year featured Janet Jackson as the headliner, who performed a raucous musical set with Jessica Simpson, Nelly, Diddy, Kid Rock, and Justin Timberlake. MTV produced the segment, which was to raise awareness of the importance of voting for the "Choose or Lose" campaign. But no one was focused on voting, either. Instead, all eyes were glued to the television sets when Timberlake came out to perform his hit song, "Rock Your Body," which ended with the former NSYNC singer ripping off a portion of Jackson's top to reveal her bare breast furnished with a nipple shield.

The stunt seemed to be almost telegraphed within the song lyrics themselves, with Timberlake singing, "Bet I'll have you naked by the end of this song." And perhaps people should've known something like this was being planned, as just a few days before the Super Bowl, Gil Duldulao (Jackson's choreographer) teased this to MTV News: "There are some shocking moments in there too." But what was really going on surrounding the incident, and what was the fallout?

Outrage followed swiftly after the 2004 Super Bowl halftime show. Janet Jackson, Justin Timberlake, and MTV all released statements apologizing for the incident to various degrees, but the damage was done with the moment that landed CBS in hot water with the FCC. The chairman at the time, Michael Powell, said in a statement published by The Washington Post, "I am outraged at what I saw during the halftime show of the Super Bowl. 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. Our nation's children, parents and citizens deserve better."

The FCC issued CBS a $550,000 fine after reportedly receiving roughly 540,000 complaints. However, an appeals court later tossed out the fine. Aside from Super Bowl halftime shows becoming decidedly safer in the aftermath of Janet Jackson (Paul McCartney would perform the following year), the incident impacted the zeitgeist in various other ways. 

For starters, the term "wardrobe malfunction" was coined following the incident, which refers to any piece of clothing that moves out of position to reveal more sensitive areas of a person's body. Additionally, Janet Jackson's Super Bowl halftime show also influenced the creation of YouTube. The co-founders of YouTube have said the performance, as well as the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami, inspired them to create YouTube because, before then, it was difficult to track down videos of said incidents. 

Janet Jackson received the lion's share of blame for the Super Bowl halftime show incident, and the moment signaled the downfall of her career. Her representative said in a statement to E! News, "Justin was supposed to pull away the rubber bustier to reveal a red lace bra. The garment collapsed and her breast was accidentally revealed." However, what was done was done, and things only deteriorated from there. 

The Grammys took place a week after the Super Bowl that year on February 8. Jackson was offered the chance to present on the contingency she apologized, but she refused. On March 22 of that year, Jackson released a new album, "Damita Jo." While a Super Bowl performance just a month prior should've boosted sales, it seems the wardrobe malfunction actually hurt her. The album only sold 381,000 copies in its first week, missing out on the top spot to Usher's "Confessions." It was the first time a Janet Jackson album hadn't debuted at number one since 1989. 

The halftime show created a specter over Janet Jackson's career for years. Two years later, Jackson appeared on "The Oprah Winfrey Show" to discuss it yet again, where she reiterated that it was an accident. In 2022, she released the documentary, "Janet," which also went in-depth on the performance. This followed up another documentary about the event — "Malfunction: The Dressing Down of Janet Jackson." Around this time, she put out a statement published by People wanting to simply put it all behind her: "Honestly, this whole thing was blown way out of proportion. And, of course, it was an accident that should not have happened, but everyone is looking for someone to blame and that's got to stop."

In contrast, Justin Timberlake's career almost seemed to benefit from the Super Bowl controversy. While Janet Jackson declined to go to that year's Grammys, Timberlake was willing to play ball. He went home a big winner that year, taking home a trophy for best male pop vocal performance. He addressed the halftime show in his acceptance speech, saying, "What occurred was unintentional, completely regrettable, and I apologize if you guys are offended."

He continued putting out music and starred in a slew of films, including lending his voice to the kid-friendly "Trolls" movies. In fact, Timberlake would be able to grace the Super Bowl halftime stage again in 2018, where he seemed to reference the 2004 incident. During a medley of his hit songs, he began "Rock Your Body," but before getting to the "naked" lyric, he quickly stated, "Hold on, stop," before moving on to something else. 

Timberlake's Super Bowl participation came into the limelight again following the release of "Framing Britney Spears," in 2021. The documentary reexamined how the media treated Spears and specifically how Timberlake portrayed her as a villain following their break-up. Timberlake apologized to both Spears and Jackson in an Instagram post, later published by The New York Times: "I specifically want to apologize to Britney Spears and Janet Jackson both individually, because I care for and respect these women and I know I failed."

The Janet Jackson Super Bowl incident was the source of numerous jokes and much derision at the time. Many late-night talk show hosts discussed the incident, but even at the time, there was a certain sentiment it was all blown out of proportion. The "South Park" episode, "Good Times With Weapons," which came out a little over a month after the performance, seemingly addresses it. In the episode, the people of South Park are more offended that Cartman appears in public naked than the fact Butters was maimed by a ninja star. One viewpoint was that the American public and FCC were being hypocritical, caring more about a nipple than violence, and many have begun to realize the unfair treatment Janet Jackson received following the performance.

In 2017, the hashtag #JusticeForJanet blew up on social media in response to Justin Timberlake being invited to perform at a Super Bowl halftime show again. It was seen as a double standard, where a white man was allowed to get back into the public's good graces while a Black woman was ostracized. Jackson has put out a few more albums and gone on tours, but it's unfortunate that her name and legacy will forever be tied to an incident that shouldn't have occurred in the first place. 

Super Bowl halftime shows have seen certain levels of controversy in the years since Jackson. The FCC received over 1,300 complaints in response to what was perceived as a sexually provocative performance from Shakira and Jennifer Lopez in 2020. That's a drop in the bucket to Jackson's, which didn't just get living rooms talking that year but truly changed the course of popular culture.