February 1, 2004. The Superbowl 38 half-time show.
A night that lives in media and pop culture infamy.
Media’s Scapegoat
It is important to note the culture of the time. Janet Jackson had been famous for almost 30 years by this point. America watched her grow up from being the Jacksons’ little sister who would do duets with Randy, acting in television shows such as “Good Times,” “Fame,” and “Different Strokes,” to her solo music career. As Janet got older and she wiggled out from under the thumb of her father and manager Joe Jackson, she began to define herself and her music. Janet found that she was a sensual person, and she unashamedly expressed that through her music and visuals.
This of course was not well received by all audiences. The Culture Wars had been raging on in America for at least 20 years by the time of the Superbowl 38 incident, but a better scapegoat had never presented itself. The Cultural Wars are explained in a digestible way in “Malfunction: The Dressing Down of Janet Jackson” but here is my attempt to summarize:
Conservatives (people from both the political right and left) were unhappy with the progressive state of the country. The initial barriers to such expression we see in music, television, and general media today were being torn down in the late 80s and early 90s too much discourse. Discourse that would see petitions for censorship signed by hundreds of thousands of parents, a call for television ratings, and explicit content warnings in music. The Cultural Wars essentially was the fight to reassert conservative values instead of the progressive acceptance of various sexualities, gender identities, even depictions of violence and hard topics. Yes, we’re still living through the Cultural Wars today.
In this tumultuous environment, Janet became the scapegoat in a decades-long social struggle. A wardrobe malfunction that was said to be broadcasted for half a second resulted in a $550,000 fine from the Federal Communications Commission and Janet being blacklisted. Janet was banned from performing at the half-time show, blacklisted from award shows and events, harrassed by tabloids and television news, forced to make multiple public apologies, and slowed her music career. But what happened to Justin Timberlake? The man who ripped the piece of clothing off, causing the malfunction? His career never took a hit, in fact, he won two Grammys that very week. Why? Sexism and racism.
Shifting Perspective
The eye of scrutiny and disdain has finally fallen on Justin Timberlake close to 20 years later. This past summer The New York Times released an episode of their show “The New York Times Presents.” The series of standalone documentaries represent the unparalleled journalism and insight of The New York Times.
This episode came out in response to the #FreeBritney movement which sought to and succeeded in bringing an end to Britney Spear’s abusive conservatorship under her father, Jamie Spears. The documentary relays her well-documented raise to fame, her time at the top, all the way through the 2007 tabloid harassment that served as the catalyst for the conservatorship.
All of this is relevant because of Justin Timberlake’s role of demonizing her in the eyes of the press and then skating off unscathed. Even famous men are capable of being destructive and petty during a breakup. Justin threw her to the wolves that were the early 2000s tabloid press, the same way he would do Janet just two years later. Here is a well researched recounting of the Justin and Britney situation by Lara Dane on the “Les Deux You Remember This?” podcast.
Needless to say, Justin Timberlake has been taking a consistent lashing on social media since the release of Britney’s documentary. But, the New York Times stirred the pot once again by releasing “Malfunction: The Dressing Down of Janet Jackson” in November.
Above are a myriad of headlines from 2018 after Les Moonves, the CEO of CBS at the time which broadcasts Superbowl 38 and who blacklisted Janet because he felt personally slighted, was forced to resign due to six sexual misconduct allegations. As you can see, the narrative has greatly changed from Janet being this conniving harlot to the victim of an accident and swift witch hunt.
Janet
Janet herself did not contribute to The New York Times documentary. Most likely due to her own two-part documentary where she promises to tell all, premieres in January on Lifetime. It has been confirmed that Janet will discuss the Superbowl 38 wardrobe malfunction and its subsequent effect on her career. So #JusticeforJanet lives on and the public ridicule of Justin Timberlake is to continue (in spite of Janet’s message of “uplifting” others.)
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