MATT: When you're in the middle of a hurricane
you don't really know how you feel,
but we started feeling indescribably bad for Janet
and the reaction
that was starting to coalesce against her.
REPORTER: Classless, crass, and deplorable stuff.
‐ Meanwhile, many are asking what happened to the line
that shouldn't be crossed?
REPORTER: Janet Jackson says it was all her fault.
‐ For her flash dance.
REPORTER: Just say, "I'm a trollop."
TIM: If the culture wars could have a 9/11,
it's February 1, 2004.
REPORTER: 89 million viewers watch‐‐
REPORTER: Janet Jackson's R‐rated Super Bowl stunt.
REPORTER: The exposure of Janet Jackson's breast during‐‐
‐ Janet Jackson. ‐ Janet Jackson.
REPORTER: Looking into television and the large amounts
of sex and violence is an old political trick,
and there's always a bit of demagoguery involved.
CATHY: There was no equality of punishment.
‐ I am really sorry.
REPORTER: She is taking the complete fall for this.
‐ It's a Black thing.
JANEL JACKSON: I'm sure you guys are sick of hearing about it.
I know I am, let's‐‐ ask me about something else.
‐ I'm not so sure they are sick of hearing about it.
JENNA: To see it on that scale happening to someone
like Janet‐‐ it didn't just happen to her.
It rippled and touched all of us.
I still don't understand how hard they came for Janet.
‐ Ladies and gentlemen,
I'd like to introduce Janet Jackson.
How you doing?
TITO: If you're a Jackson, you know,
you're born onstage.
HOST: Hiya, Janet. ‐ Hi.
‐ Is this your first‐‐isn't your first time on television?
‐ Yes.
‐ Do you ever watch me when you're home?
‐ Yes. ‐ Ah, aren't you nice?
‐ Janet was not a shy person.
‐ Are you ready to sing your big number with Randy?
‐ Yes. ‐ Oh, I can't wait.
‐ She would come out and do her little number with Randy.
RANDY: Take it away, Janet.
‐ ♪ Charleston was once the rage, de da da ♪
RANDY: And she did a little Mae West.
Throwing her hips and, "Come here, lover boy."
‐ How would you call your lover boy?
‐ I would say...
[laughter]
Come here, lover boy.
TITO: You're watching your older siblings
do what they do, and...
MERV: Janet, congratulations. That was terrific.
‐ You can't help but join in, I guess.
CHORUS: ♪ Good times ♪
SINGER: ♪ Any time you need a friend ♪
TITO: Janet joined the "Good Times" series.
‐ Hi.
TITO: We just remembered seeing her rushing home.
Can't miss an episode.
‐ I'm sorry, Mom, I won't do it again, I promise.
DANYEL: I think that people forget that there just
were not that many Black people on television.
And for me, as a little girl growing up
in the 1970s and 1980s,
seeing her as Penny on "Good Times,"
then seeing her on "Diff'rent Strokes,"
as Wilson's girlfriend.
Then seeing her on "Fame." Like, come on.
She was a mirror of me.
Man, she was going through what I was going through,
on television, and there was almost no place else to look.
‐ I'm Cathy Hughes.
I'm the founder and chairperson of Urban One Inc.,
the largest Black‐owned media company in the country.
The pressure that was on her had to be very significant.
White executives always, always start from the premise
of what is acceptable to their white audience.
And because we have been brainwashed
that white is beautiful, you have a pressure
that does not exist for a white female artist.
There is a double/triple standard
that she had to live up to, at a very impressionable age.
MICHAEL: In 1984, I got the chance
to interview Janet Jackson.
She was just starting out,
and she was known for sitcoms at this point.
She actually said to me,
"I wouldn't mind doing a video with Michael,
if they have any parts for chubby girls."
ANDERSON COOPER: When you were on "Good Times,"
there were people telling you‐‐
constantly talking about your body image.
‐ I remember I was getting dressed
for the very, very first episode.
The wardrobe lady, while she was dressing me, she says,
"I have to put bandages around your chest."
I immediately thought, "As I am isn't good enough."
And then it was told to me that the next season
I was too heavy. That I needed to lose weight.
PRODUCER: What was the nickname the brothers gave her?
‐ Donkey. Donk sometimes, for short.
JANET: That's my nickname that my family‐‐
one of my nicknames. Donk.
‐ Where does Donk come from?
‐ Do you really want to know? ‐ Yeah.
‐ From a donkey.
Well, see, now it seems redundant.
‐ A donkey? ‐ Yeah.
It was‐‐my body shaped like a donkey. I got teased‐‐
‐ You had a body shaped like a donkey?
‐ Yeah. I got teased a lot, as a kid.
I got called a lot of names.
‐ Including Donk?
‐ Donk. Pig. Cow. Slaughter hog. Horse.
‐ Oh, that had to be a lot of laughs.
‐ Laughs for somebody.
CATHY: During those early days,
Janet was a little girl on television,
but Joe was preparing everyone for her entrée
into the music industry.
And being on television gave her a world of exposure
that her brothers and sisters weren't experiencing.
‐ Having already established herself
as a very gifted actress, her name is Janet Jackson.
‐ ♪ I may be young, but I'm not foolish. ♪
PERSON: She has just released an album.
Here is Janet Jackson. My, you're a pretty young lady.
‐ Gee, thanks.
‐ Your eyes‐‐is that your best feature, do you think?
‐ I don't know.
CHRIS: There were two albums, in 1982 and '84.
One called "Janet Jackson,"
the other called "Dream Street."
And you can think of these two albums
as the Joe Jackson patriarch albums.
JANET: Marlon produced the song that I just sang
"You Don't Stand" and another song,
"All My Love to You," and all my brothers
sing background on "You Don't Stand."
♪ Nothing you can do or say can make him look your way ♪
CHRIS: She is following the business model
that has worked for the Jacksons, lo, this last
decade/decade‐and‐a‐half,
and none of it really works.
‐ My father managed me ever since I was 7 years old.
Ever since I started in this business.
‐ LaToya and Michael speak quite harshly
about your father's control
and talk of one kind of violence or another.
Was he rough on you?
‐ No, being African‐American, we always use the word "beat,"
but it's not‐‐it's getting a spanking is what it really is.
‐ Did it go too far though? ‐ With my father?
No, not that I know of. Not at all.
It was never something that we didn't deserve.
JESUS: At the point that I met her,
she was ready to bust out.
She was transitioning from a shy little girl
into womanhood,
who wanted to take control.
She wanted to be the CEO of her life.
JANET: When I was about 14,
I signed my first recording contract.
Yeah, 14.
Everything was given to me. Handed to me.
"Here, sing this. Do this," and I hated it.
I said, "No more."
I refused to do that ever again.
‐ At that point, fired her father.
A&M realized that that happened
and offered her a contract.
That move was an incredible move.
Either she was gonna be in control,
or he was gonna be in control.
‐ ♪ When I was 17, I did what people told me ♪
♪ ♪
♪ Did what my father said and let my mother mold me ♪
I've decided to take control of my life.
♪ I'm in ♪ ♪ CHORUS: Control ♪
JESUS: I remember listening to the "Control" album
for the first time.
I said, man, this thing is incredible.
It's gonna be a blockbuster, homerun album.
‐ ♪ What have you done for me lately? ♪
♪ The pleasure principle, whoa ♪
♪ Oh, ooh So in love ♪
♪ Nasty, nasty boys, no, my first name ain't Baby ♪
♪ It's Janet ♪
♪ Ms. Jackson, if you're nasty ♪
DIANA ROSS: She's in complete control.
Her album is still in the top ten.
‐ It was very easy for those of us in Black radio.
We already loved her. We wanted her to win.
‐ I can't tell you how thrilled I am to present Janet Jackson!
CHRIS: To be a Black woman
who crossed from R&B to pop and back...
‐ Janet Jackson. "Control."
CHRIS: You really have to find a new mode.
She's really finding her own lane
and coming up with a new definition
of what a Black female pop star sounded like.
‐ ♪ Five, four, three, two, one ♪
♪ ♪
TOURE: I mean, like, if we thought "Control" was the shit,
"Rhythm Nation" was like, "Oh, my God!
This is amazing."
‐ ♪ We are a part of the rhythm nation ♪
♪ Whoo! ♪
CHRIS: "Rhythm Nation 1814"
is effectively Janet's "What's Going On?"
‐ ♪ Prejudice, no ♪
CHRIS: She's inspired to do a message album.
DANYEL: As a Black woman, listen,
it was just an immediate anthem of strength.
MICHAEL: She dealt with issues.
She dealt with equality.
She empowered women,
and she was all too right for the conservatives to pounce.
PERSON: Three... two...
REPORTER: Where do you draw the line
between, you know, good taste and vulgarity?
‐ Yeah, that line between, uh,
class and being crass, being classy and...
It's a‐‐you have to be very careful.
‐ I remember my parents being concerned about what messages
I was getting from pop music, at the time.
Even though Janet was going farther,
it wasn't just a free‐for‐all.
‐ ♪ If I was your girl, the things I'd do to you ♪
♪ I'd make you call up my name I'd ask who it belongs to ♪
TOURE: "Janet" is the album that I reviewed
for "Rolling Stone" that was like,
"I got it," in terms of, like, who she is
as a person and her development as a woman,
now, saying, like, "I am full, I am sexual."
The person who had been like, "Let's wait a while,"
was now talking about, "Any time, any place."
‐ ♪ I don't want to stop just because ♪
♪ People standing round and watching us ♪
It's just a side of me that's always been there,
but I've never shared it with the public before,
and it was finally time.
‐ But to some people, it might be shocking, I guess.
I mean‐‐ ‐ It definitely would be.
Especially growing up in this business.
"Oh, my God, she's not a baby anymore; she's a woman."
‐ She has a sex life. ‐ [laughs]
‐ Yeah, my gracious. ‐ Yes.
ROSIE: Can I tell you something?
If I looked like this naked, I would be naked right now.
TOURE: The "Rolling Stone" cover is iconic.
JENNA: It was everywhere. She looked so confident.
The hands behind the head. Yes, we're getting Janet.
Yes, it's racy, but these are intimate hands.
That's her man.
CHRIS: She is unabashed about being an object of desire,
in a way that she hadn't before.
Janet drops this album into the midst of the '90s culture wars.
‐ We must take back our culture and take back our country.
TOURE: You see the political right
starting to push back and say,
like, "Whoa, the country's getting too sexual.
"We are not comfortable with Ellen..."
‐ I'm gay. TOURE: "Coming out, mm‐mm.
No, get back in the closet. We don't like this."
MARC: You had the moral majority.
You had the religious right.
even conservative Democrats, the Tipper Gores
of the world, who would be emerging.
‐ Placing a warning label on music products
inappropriate for younger children,
due to explicit, sexual, or violent lyrics.
MARC: We had all of these movements saying
America had lost its values. America was going to hell,
and we needed stronger conservative values.
DEMONSTRATOR: Jesus died on the cross for you!
MARC: That was really designed at policing sexuality,
attacking art, trying to destroy multiculturalism.
CITIZEN: I feel that there is an undercurrent of racism,
and that the system is rotten to the core.
‐ The Republican party is complaining about the values
that are being shared in pop culture.
‐ It doesn't help matters when primetime TV has "Murphy Brown"
mocking the importance of fathers.
[tense music]
SAM: When you look at the '90s,
the guard rails were flying off.
Television has such a dominant position on raising people,
and raising our children, and impressionable minds,
and I clearly believe that we needed
to do something about the kind of culture
and the kind of climate we had in America.
And there were three specific areas of concern.
One was language.
‐ Get the hell out of my kitchen!
SAM: One was violence,
and one was sexuality.
‐ Good evening, ladies and gentlemen.
My name is Tim Winter,
and I am president of the Parents Television Council.
The PTC's mission is to protect children
from the graphic sex, violence, and profanity
that is so pervasive in our entertainment media.
Our concern was that all these instances
of isolated profanity‐‐isolated sexually explicit material
that was appearing on broadcast radio
and television was gonna become the norm.
‐ Children today are being bombarded
by intensely violent images in the movies they watch
and in the videogames that they play.
TIM: Brent Bozell, the founder, had
strong allies on Capitol Hill.
‐ And at this point, I will turn it over
to Senator Brownback.
TIM: He knew which members of Congress were concerned
about coarsening of the media culture,
especially as it related to children.
‐ Thank you, Brent, and Parents Television Council,
for putting forward another report.
SAM: There was certainly no qualm
in my mind that we needed to,
in broadcast television, put in limits.
TIM: They had a meeting at the FCC
with then‐chairman Michael Powell.
There was a growing concern, at our end,
about the lack of enforcement by the FCC
of a law that Congress had instructed them to enforce.
We had filed numerous complaints,
and the public had, as well,
going back to things like the Bono F‐bomb
at the Golden Globe awards on NBC.
‐ That is really, really fucking brilliant, and‐‐
TIM: The naked rear end on "NYPD Blue."
Howard Stern, his radio broadcast.
‐ I'm a very bad girl. ‐ All right, here we go.
TIM: And at that time, Chairman Powell said
that there were no public complaints,
and Brent literally brought out thousands of petitions
that had been filed, by members of the public,
about broadcast indecency.
HOST: What show is #1 on your hitlist?
BRENT: I would look at two networks on cable,
the FX network and MTV.
FX because it's got the raunchiest programming.
MTV because it's aimed at children.
HOST: How does your organization define indecency?
What's indecent?
‐ Well, you know, it's like Justice Potter Stewart said
about pornography. You‐‐you know when you see it.
‐ Janet is walking in the middle of that...
Because she's tasteful.
She's talking about her sexual awakening.
She's never putting it in your face.
That's not what she was talking about.
‐ You have said‐‐and I thought this was so honest‐‐
you said, "All I did was do what I always did.
"I write about what's going on in my life.
I'm being honest about my own sexuality."
‐ Yeah. ‐ I do.
The album has been banned in a few places, because of‐‐
‐ Is that good?
‐ I'm not gonna change it. It's me.
It's‐‐it's who I am.
I think it's beautiful to express that.
SHANNON: There's this catch‐22 in terms of
how women artists, and women of color in particular,
gain control of their own image.
You're either too sexual.
The other side of that is, if you own that,
now you open up the floodgates that,
"Well, if she didn't want to be sexualized,
then why did she create this image
for herself to begin with?"
OPRAH: Is your nipple pierced? JANET: Yes.
OPRAH: I just want to know why you pierced your nipple.
‐ For one, you get this great sensation.
[cheers and applause]
‐ Hello.
CATHY: I think Janet Jackson opened Pandora's box
to what we're seeing now,
for being the first who blatantly said,
"I like who I am. I like how I look."
JANET: It's really, really tough, it really is.
I mean, am I supposed to go my entire career
and not talk about what I feel inside?
It's getting kind of lonely up here.
JENNA: Our culture doesn't know what to do with independent women
and definitely not independent Black women.
And forget about an independent Black woman
who makes her own money, who knows who she is,
and is apparently
a completely sexually liberated person.
And when there is an opportunity
to punish her for it, they did.
[upbeat rock music]
‐ Smile!
TOURE: So in the '90s, MTV is
the biggest radio station in the country.
They are really a dominating entity within culture.
They are really shaping culture.
‐ Ahh! ‐ Hi, MTV.
‐ The 1990 video van guard award winner.
‐ And the very deserving winner is...
‐ Miss. Janet. Jackson.
‐ Janet Jackson.
TOURE: If you could get 40 spins a week on MTV,
you could become a big star.
‐ My guest today is one of the most beautiful
and talented artists in the music world.
She continues to set the mark which other pop stars are
simply measured by. We're delighted to have her.
Please welcome Janet Jackson to "TRL."
[cheers and applause]
CARSON: Great to have you here.
Can we just, for a second, walk over to the window
and say "hi" to New York? JANET: Sure.
CARSON: Because these people are gonna go nuts here.
They've been standing out here for an abnormal amount of time.
Since last week, actually.
SALLI: We understood live television.
We understood how to entertain the audience.
‐ The lady with the sexiest belly button I've ever seen.
Janet Jackson.
‐ ♪ Like a moth to the flame, burned by the fire ♪
ALAN: Janet had become
one of the biggest stars in the world.
Her tours were among the biggest events
in entertainment, and to be given
an opening spot for her Velvet Rope tour
was an enormous platform.
It put you in front of millions and millions of people
around the world.
And one of the acts that she reached out to for that tour
was a young boy band called NSYNC.
NSYNC MEMBER: All right, well, let's talk about
this Janet Jackson thing.
ALL: Ooh. ‐ Ah.
JUSTIN: Man, let me tell you how excited I am.
This is Justin. I just want to say
I've been a big fan of Janet's for a long, long time.
I watched Janet Jackson's "Rhythm Nation 1814" video
like a hundred‐gazillion times.
‐ That's her. ‐ It says, "To: Justin."
‐ Yeah, come on, for Justin. ‐ Oh, I love this one.
Aw. PERSON: [speaks language]
‐ Justin. Aw, shoot.
NSYNC MEMBER: When things were just starting out for NSYNC,
Janet took us with her on the Velvet Rope tour
and taught us what being professional was all about.
‐ Yeah, like how to be fine.
CROWD: [cheers]
CHRIS: And then, in 2001, MTV gives Janet the Icon award.
‐ We love Janet for a whole lot of reasons.
‐ Yeah, like she's fine.
CHRIS: The night that they are presenting
the Icon award to her,
all Justin Timberlake can comment on,
while his bandmate is extolling her many skills and talents,
is how hot she is.
‐ One of our favorite Janet Jackson videos is
"That's the Way Love Goes,"
because that video had the coolest, most laidback groove‐‐
‐ Yeah, she's fine in the video too, fine.
‐ MTV was a place where partners would come to us
for our audience.
In 2001, when CBS and MTV merged
under the umbrella of Viacom, there was a lot of discussion
about putting these two brands together.
The NFL started to sort of take notice.
CBS had the Super Bowl in 2001 where they were like,
"Hey, we should work together to create a spectacle,"
and we did.
ANNOUNCER: May I have your attention please?
["Walk This Way" by Aerosmith]
♪ ♪
SALLI: We diversified the halftime
like no one ever really had.
Everyone was really proud of it.
Everyone was very pleased.
So in 2004, when CBS once again had the Super Bowl,
the discussions began about MTV doing the halftime again.
TOURE: Now, MTV had a reputation of being badass,
of being subversive, of pushing boundaries.
They had just given us Madonna kissing Britney Spears
at the front of their award show.
TIM: We knew that MTV was
likely to bring along the potential
for risky, racy content, and we were very mindful
and very concerned about the family‐friendly nature,
or lack thereof, of that show, because of MTV producing it.
SALLI: The NFL was very conscious of, like,
who they were gonna put on display.
TOURE: They want these gigantic stars
that will appeal to multiple generations,
that will appeal to red states and blue states.
SALLI: Very few artists can actually sort of
fit that bill,
so the shortlist of talent that we sort of internally
had vetted went up the flagpole to the NFL.
We finally all agreed on Janet,
and we were very excited when she said yes.
ANNOUNCER: Stay tuned...
for the supercharged AOL Top Speed Halftime Extravaganza.
‐ See you at halftime.
JANET: ♪ This is sick ♪
DIRECTOR: All right, guys. Here we go.
TECHNICIAN: And playback is rolling.
ASSISTANT: We got rolling!
CHRIS: By 2004, Janet had been off the radar
for a couple of years
when she was, in fact, about to release a new album.
There's a little bit of,
if I may quote one of her own songs,
"What have you done for us lately?"
JANET: ♪ This rhythm just ♪
MATT: I was chairman and CEO of Virgin Records, at the time.
Had recently met Janet
and started working with her on the "Damita Jo" album.
We worked for over a year
on getting ready to release the album,
and we were super excited
that Janet was performing at the Super Bowl.
‐ The Super Bowl halftime show is the biggest moment
of the year for eyeballs on music,
and that album should see a really big bump
as a result of that performance.
TOURE: This is a gigantic deal.
For her to be able to say, "I'm still Super Bowl level"
is a huge stamp of approval.
JIM: When it came to 2004,
I mean we felt very confident in dealing with MTV.
Now, when we got to the point of trying to select
where the talent was and what was gonna take place,
they had changed a little bit
from where they were three years prior.
Music had changed dramatically,
over that course of three years, also.
‐ All right, so be sure to catch
the AOL Top Speed Super Bowl halftime show produced by MTV.
You got Janet Jackson, Kid Rock, P. Diddy,
and Nelly is gonna be there,
so make sure you tune in for that.
‐ I think, of all the issues we had potentially,
concerning the talent for the halftime show,
Janet Jackson was probably the least concern that we had.
‐ They're a fun group of guys,
and it's nice to be the only girl.
JIM: There was concern with P. Diddy.
There was concern with Nelly.
There was concern with Kid Rock.
With some elements in the NFL thought that maybe that
was going a little bit too far from where we wanted to be.
PAUL: I realized that they were misogynistic lyrics
that were offensive to people.
Misogyny in the lyrics in rap music is a complicated subject.
JIM: I think, for the NFL, the one thing
that you always hear is protecting the shield,
and that's the "protect the image of the game."
Protect the image of the league.
It's a very important element of the NFL
is how associated it is with Americana.
When the talent was announced, the owner of the Texans
sent a letter to Tagliabue critical of the talent
and not thinking it was the right thing,
but was really upset with what was going on.
This is Houston, and it's the owner of the Texans,
and it's a Super Bowl in his town.
PERSON: Roger Goodell spoke to me in the morning and said,
"Before you leave this afternoon for Europe,
"you should try to talk to Les Moonves.
"He's the chief executive at CBS.
He should be aware of this."
‐ In 2004, Les Moonves was synonymous with CBS.
Responsible for some of the most profitable hits on TV,
he was one of the most powerful executives
in broadcasting, period.
PERSON: So I spoke to Les in the car,
as I was driving to Kennedy Airport,
and he told me that he was aware of the issues
and that I didn't have to worry about it.
He would make certain that the halftime show presentation
would be first class and that there'd be no problems.
RACHEL: In the NFL's mind, that meant it had to be clean.
It had to be family friendly,
and it had to upset and offend exactly zero people.
JIM: It was probably late in December,
and I remember getting a call from Salli saying,
"You know, we think that maybe there's a good idea to add
"somebody that might,
"you know, help temper the tone a little bit,
and we think about adding Justin Timberlake."
And I said almost immediately, "Absolutely."
REPORTER: What do you have planned specifically?
Can you get into that? Any surprises?
‐ There's a special guest. Can't tell you who.
‐ Really? ‐ Yeah.
There's a special guest.
‐ Can you give us a clue or anything?
‐ Uh‐uh.
RACHEL: Then MTV, right before the Super Bowl,
issued a press release
talking about how the Super Bowl halftime show
was going to include shocking moments.
‐ Some surprises I think. Maybe‐‐you'll have to see.
SALLI: Justin wasn't announced.
He wasn't at the press conference.
The big surprise was supposed to be the reveal of Justin.
That was the surprise.
ANNOUNCER: Janet Jackson has been busy working backstage,
as everything falls into place for what could be
one of the biggest halftime shows ever produced.
BETH: Thursday night was the only night
that we get the field.
We actually did a full dress rehearsal
of the halftime show a few times.
‐ And that rehearsal is something
that I always sat through.
There were a lot of great concerns
from sitting there watching it.
I think we wrote a two‐and‐a‐half page memo
about things that we thought needed to be changed
in the show.
‐ And we had to go back and take a look at some
of P. Diddy's lyrics, we had to look at Nelly's lyrics.
KID ROCK: We went through a lot of trouble for this outfit.
SALLI: Kid Rock wanted to wear a flag.
NFL was really worried about the flag.
Nobody wanted to be disrespectful to that.
Became, like, a big thing.
JIM: And the feedback I got from Salli and everybody was
that they acknowledged they got it,
and they would work towards accomplishing, you know,
the things that we had pointed out.
[laughter]
‐ Shut that off. We can hang out now.
SALLI: We had very little rehearsal time
with all the artists individually,
but especially Justin, because he was flying in from Europe.
BETH: So the game plan for the ending of the halftime show
was they were doing a Janet Jackson song
and then went into Justin's song.
At the end of the song, he sings,
"I'm gonna have you naked by the end of this song."
And on the word "song" they had Janet wearing a tearaway skirt,
and he was just gonna take the skirt off, on "song."
She had a full jumpsuit underneath.
SALLI: After that rehearsal, we all agreed,
from a staging perspective, it just didn't work.
The NFL gave me notes. CBS gave me notes,
and we all ultimately agreed we would not do that,
and she was agreeable to it.
I looked at every piece of wardrobe,
along with someone
from my standards and practices department,
so that we were sort of legally looking at everything.
I felt like we had delivered the messages clear.
‐ Goes into the archives and puts on‐‐
ALAN: Wayne Skot Lukas is a stylist
who was part of Janet's team,
and what's been reported is that,
after the rehearsal for the halftime show,
the next day he went out shopping, on his own.
REPORTER: Sterling silver sunburst nipple shield
purchased by Jackson's stylist.
ALAN: And reporting shows
that he spent a lot of time at a local tailor,
and we don't know what it was that was being worked on there,
but clearly some of the wardrobe was being adjusted.
SALLI: We had no knowledge, at all, of what might have been
happening between Janet and her team.
ANNOUNCER: Here we go.
BETH: The game is starting, and we are having
our talent people coming in and giving us updates,
because Justin Timberlake had flown out to Los Angeles
and flew back in, on Sunday, back to Texas.
ANNOUNCER: Coming up, the AOL Top Speed Super Bowl XXXVIII
halftime show with Janet Jackson.
BETH: I believe he landed about 20 minutes
before the halftime show started.
We were literally having a police escort
waiting for him at the airport,
so he can arrive in time for the halftime show.
‐ I remember speaking with him.
"Are you all set? Do you have any questions?"
There was a request for him to go in,
to speak to Janet, her stylist.
We, as the producers, didn't‐‐ we weren't in the room.
Nobody was in the room.
There was a small conversation that lasted minutes
in her dressing room. Justin came out.
Everyone went off to get in their ready/start positions.
ANNOUNCER: We have come to the end
of the first half of Super Bowl XXXVIII.
‐ Houston! Choose to party!
‐ I saw Janet right before she went on,
and she was super excited.
A little nervous, like any artist would be,
right before a big performance, but super happy.
‐ ♪ All my girls at the party look at that body ♪
♪ Shaking that thing like you never did see ♪
♪ Got a nice package, all right‐‐edit ♪
♪ It's all for you if you really want it ♪
JIM: At the beginning of the halftime show,
I was up in the command post
with all the other NFL entities.
‐ [rapping]
JIM: I'm watching the show, and there are some things
that we had pointed out that obviously didn't get adjusted.
You know, it's fait accompli, at that point in time.
It's happened.
‐ ♪ Take my clothes off ♪
PAUL: My daughter basically said, "Dad, there were
parts of the halftime show which were terrible."
Kid Rock had disrespected the flag.
It was gonna be difficult for her to explain
to her fellow high school teachers
how I and the NFL
can allow a halftime show like that to get on the air.
ALL: ♪ Cowboy! ♪
ELECTRIC VOICE: Five, four, three, two, one.
CHORUS: ♪ Ho! Ho! Ho! ♪
SALLI: Janet is revealed.
We had screens. We have projection.
CHORUS: ♪ We are a part of the rhythm nation ♪
JANET: ♪ Rhythm ♪ BETH: She is great.
The choreography's fantastic. The costumes are great.
[cheers and applause]
♪ ♪
SALLI: Justin came out.
The song begins. They're rocking it.
They're doing the choreography as planned,
and everything was scripted.
‐ ♪ Now, Janet, won't you see ♪
‐ ♪ Talk to me, boy ♪
‐ ♪ No disrespect, I don't mean no harm ♪
‐ And then, of course, we come to the close,
and it's the final few seconds of the song,
and, you know, that's just when everything went wrong.
‐ [gasps]
‐ Did you see what just happened?
‐ I barely noticed.
‐ We saw Janet's nipple for 9/16ths of a second.
‐ ♪ Gonna have you naked by the end of this song ♪
SALLI: The song ended. We went wide.
The pyro hit, and we start applauding.
We're just like, "Oh, my gosh." You know, we did it.
And then the phone rings,
and I'm thinking I'm answering that phone
because I'm gonna get like,
"That was amazing, and congratulations."
Instead, I get...
‐ Did you see what just happened?
‐ I sort of put the phone like this, and I was like,
"Did you guys just see what happened?"
‐ I asked my stage manager on the floor.
I said, "What's going on?" She said, "I don't know,
but I had a blanket for Janet to wrap her in," and she said,
"I put the blanket on her, and she was crying."
[tense music]
♪ ♪
SALLI: And he said, "Did you know what‐‐
Did you know that was gonna happen, Salli?"
And I said, "No, Jim, I didn't."
And he goes, "I believe you."
I hung up the phone. We took a moment.
Our tape operator rewound it.
We looked at the close‐up shot.
We looked at the wide shot,
and we all stood there in shock.
♪ ♪
Of course, one of the first things we tried to do
was go talk to Janet.
Janet fled.
We couldn't get her on the phone.
We couldn't get the manager on the phone.
JENNA: Was it an accident? Was it planned?
Was it a stunt? Was it publicity?
Like, we never got a clear answer from Justin.
‐ That was fun.
It was quick, slick, to the point.
And, no, I enjoyed it. It was a lot of fun.
‐ You guys were getting pretty hot and steamy up there.
‐ Hey, man, we love giving y'all something to talk about.
MATT: From my vantage point, she did look upset.
She looked distraught.
‐ You got nasty with Ms. Jackson.
That was pretty cool.
‐ Hey, man. It's every man's dream.
‐ There's something about the way Janet's head snaps down
at the very end when she realized
how exposed she is that doesn't feel scripted.
It didn't feel like that's what she wanted to happen.
It didn't feel right.
‐ If she had been there, in retrospect, to sort of
take the heat and talk about it,
hey, maybe it was a mistake.
She should have just said
"No one knew, and it was a mistake."
Like, she never said anything to us.
Here we are trying to ask the person
that this just happened to,
'cause it happened to her, and she was gone.
PERSON: She was on a plane back to, I think, L. A.
SALLI: Then we sought out Justin.
We pulled him aside, one to one.
"Justin, what just happened?"
He's like, "That was never meant to happen.
I was told you guys knew." We didn't.
He was very apologetic. He manned up.
PAUL: I think Les Moonves reached out to me,
assuming that I was not happy
with what happened in the halftime show,
to explain that he was not happy either,
and that CBS would get to the bottom of how it happened.
Who was involved. Who knew about it.
SALLI: I was a wreck personally,
and I pretty much lost it.
I was in tears. I was‐‐people are crying.
Like, it was‐‐yeah. It was really upsetting.
It's very emotional.
I felt betrayed.
[indistinct chatter] My instincts told me
that there was a private conversation
between wardrobe stylist and artist
where someone thought this would be a good idea.
And it backfired.
REPORTER: Janet, take responsibility
for your actions. Just say, "I'm a trollop.
"I need attention. Buy my new album."
That's all you have to say.
SPOKESPERSON: Offensive.
Embarrassing to us and our fans.
REPORTER: The Federal Communications Commission is investigating.
REPORTER: The National Football League is livid.
‐ I'm inclined to believe they planned it.
VOICE: She's implying that Justin was
in cahoots with her against MTV.
VOICE: This was wildly inappropriate.
‐ We have to say enough's enough.
REPORTER: To have sexualized the Super Bowl,
in the manner that they did it, is just unforgivable.
REPORTER: The incident could result
in a hefty fine for CBS.
REPORTER: Fines could reach the millions.
PAUL: When 140 million people are watching something,
there is no one reaction.
There are dozens of reactions, across the spectrum.
The truth is in the eye of the beholder,
in terms of what they think is entertaining
and what they think is inappropriate entertainment.
‐ A patheticism on the part of Janet Jackson,
who probably has seen the best days of her career.
‐ This is a woman who's 37 years old
which is‐‐this is almost geriatric
in the age of pop music.
MATT: When you're in the middle of a hurricane...
‐ We have the never‐before‐seen video...
MATT: You don't really know how you feel...
‐ If I were the president of Virgin Records‐‐
‐ But we started feeling indescribably bad for Janet
and the reaction that was starting
to coalesce against her.
RACHEL: Justin Timberlake got his statement out
before Janet Jackson did
and immediately the term "wardrobe malfunction..."
ALL: Wardrobe malfunction.
‐ Turned into something that has been burned
into our cultural consciousness.
ALL: Wardrobe malfunction.
‐ Janet was nowhere to be found.
It was the feeling that she was unresponsive.
Now, maybe she doesn't think she was unresponsive,
but, certainly, the impression that she was not around
did not do her any favors with a lot of people
who were quite angry at these companies.
ALAN: On Monday, Janet issued the first
of several of her apologies.
‐ She absolves all the corporate entities.
REPORTER: What were we supposed to see?
The red lace bra?
‐ Well, originally‐‐ ‐ Part Of the breast?
‐ Originally, people in her camp were saying today
that they were only supposed to see‐‐
viewers were only supposed to see her red lace bra.
JUSTIN: Got a call prior to the show.
They're saying that they wanted to do a costume reveal.
Now, I was under the impression
that what was going to be revealed
in the costume reveal was
a red brassiere, a bustier? Forgive me.
And, uh, you know.
Got in, didn't really have time to rehearse it.
Got to the field, went onstage, was in the moment,
and when what happened happened, all I could say was,
"Oh, my God. Oh, my God."
REPORTER: Justin Timberlake has distanced himself
from Janet Jackson.
‐ He was seen on "Access Hollywood" saying,
"Well, this is pretty cool,"
getting people tell him to talk about it.
And later, he's all like...
‐ Clearly two different‐‐ ‐ "I'm so, so sorry."
‐ Clearly two different stories.
‐ I don't feel like I need publicity like this,
and I wouldn't want to be involved
with a stunt‐‐especially something of this magnitude.
JENNA: What's so painful about that moment is
everything Janet had been working for and towards,
building up to in her career, was just taken away,
in that moment, by this white man.
TITO: There was two people onstage.
He did the pulling.
Janet's breast didn't just jump out.
RACHEL: It was widely felt from people at Viacom, CBS,
MTV, that Janet Jackson's apology was insufficient,
and Justin Timberlake was a lot more forthcoming.
And more than anything else,
Moonves felt that he had been publicly embarrassed.
ALAN: At a certain point, on the advice of management,
she did a second apology. This time, a video apology.
‐ Janet Jackson released a video statement
during the night apologizing for her Super Bowl flash.
‐ My decision to change the Super Bowl performance
was actually made after the final rehearsal.
MTV, CBS, the NFL had no knowledge of this whatsoever,
and unfortunately, the whole thing went wrong
in the end.
I am really sorry if I offended anyone.
That was truly not my intention.
‐ The contrition that was expected.
The apologies that were expected.
I just don't know if there was any amount of apologizing
that she could have done to mollify the outrage that‐‐
not that she caused, but that the incident
and the way it became its own escalating tornado.
PERSON: I was shocked. PERSON: I was shocked.
‐ They have to now monitor
what they do on a Sunday evening family show?
‐ We are boycotting MTV
because they shouldn't let those things happen.
‐ Moonves wanted an apology from Janet Jackson.
He wanted it in person,
and this is a guy who is known by people who worked for him
as someone who would hold grudges.
Somebody who quoted "The Godfather."
Somebody that you did not cross,
because he had the power to make or break your career.
And he did not get it.
Janet Jackson never gave that apology.
An executive at CBS' communications department
told me Justin Timberlake
showed up to the Los Angeles offices of CBS
and gave that in‐person apology
and basically kissed the ring.
Justin was even pretty teary‐eyed about it,
but neither apology managed to stem the uproar
that was coming from the public.
PERSON: They knew it.
Some people knew it more than others.
‐ I don't know, I always thought this was
the same artist who called herself "nasty girl."
PERSON: The entire program was not tasteful.
Was a violation of indecency standards frankly.
PERSON: This has really stirred up a discussion
that's been sort of under the surface,
for a while, about what's appropriate
when it comes to entertainment.
‐ I don't know how much it would have cost
to buy that public awareness,
but that earned media was‐‐it was worth a lot.
Our website was the first of its kind.
That any member of the public could fill out,
and click submit, and it would go immediately to the FCC.
Prior to Janet Jackson's halftime show,
I think we had about 750,000 members.
And a couple days after, we had a million members.
It was a big deal for us.
REPORTER: Janet Jackson's Super Bowl appearance
has prompted a flood of complaints to the government.
‐ A group of people‐‐I believe it's in Tennessee,
I'm not sure‐‐filed a class‐action suit
against Janet, Justin, CBS, MTV‐‐
‐ The Janet Jackson episode announced to America
what I had been trying and pushing on feverishly
in the Congress.
And finally, it was like the whole country goes,
"Oh, that's what you're talking about."
Yes, that's what I'm talking about.
ALAN: By Tuesday, the protests have gotten so loud
that the FCC gets involved and announces
that they're gonna open an investigation
into the decency of the performance.
‐ Not only is it sort of a crass
and sophomoric demonstration, it may be an illegal one.
SALLI: The next thing you know, they wanted my computer.
They wanted all my files.
Every single person that worked on the halftime show,
we were all being investigated.
‐ Some people I think lost their jobs over it.
Others had to be deposed by lawyers,
and that was a little scary.
PERSON: We'll be pretty swift about this.
This has a lot of interest behind it,
and I don't like to speculate exactly the time,
'cause we go where the facts will tell us.
ALAN: CBS is furious. Les Moonves feels betrayed,
and there starts to be a question
of whether Janet Jackson
is still going to be invited to the Grammy Awards
that are happening that next week.
‐ I was former vice president of communications
and artist relations, for the Recording Academy.
Even though Janet and Justin both gave written apologies,
it was Les Moonves, from CBS,
who decided that, if Janet Jackson and Justin
were going to be on the Grammy Awards,
they would have to publicly apologize on the show.
And that's where things got really sticky.
ANDERSON: Is this fair that Justin Timberlake
gets to perform at the Grammys? Janet Jackson doesn't.
‐ Absolutely not. He's invited to perform.
She will not even be in the building.
She is not invited.
[cheers and applause]
RON: The Recording Academy never said to Janet or Justin,
"You are uninvited." We never did that.
CBS wanted Janet Jackson and Justin Timberlake
to make formal apologies on the show,
and Justin decided to be on the show.
And Janet decided not to be. Was it because of the apology?
I don't know. One can assume.
Both artists, leading up to the Grammy Awards,
had our full support.
All we wanted to do was help both of them
really make this a positive experience,
but CBS had their caveat that they wanted to have an apology.
We're separate entities, but when you have someone
who is paying your bills for the entire year,
you have to listen to them.
MATT: It felt like another request for
something that was an accident, something that just felt
didn't need to be laid completely on her.
And so she didn't do it, and good for her.
JENNA: There are these really rigid containers
that the world expects Black women to fit into,
and the moment she did something out of line,
like, a decision was made to just exclude her.
She really just became despicable overnight.
‐ And the Grammy goes to...
Behave. Justin Timberlake.
‐ It's, uh‐‐ an honor just to be in the company‐‐
RON: This was going to make his solo career, for sure.
And so they absolutely had
way more riding on this than Janet did.
‐ This is overwhelming. I don't know what to say.
Listen, I know it's been a rough week on everybody, and...
[laughter]
What occurred was unintentional,
completely regrettable,
and I apologize if you guys were offended.
This has been a dream of mine. [cheering]
Don't. I already got enough. Don't.
Thank you. I don't know what to say.
This is officially the greatest moment of my life.
Thank you.
PERSON: What was the malfunction?
What, were both breasts supposed to pop out?
‐ Shocking. ‐ Janet Jackson?
‐ Clay, I'm gonna have you naked by the end of this promo.
ALAN: Janet being a no‐show at the Grammys
only adds to all this noise that's swirling around her
and only contributes to this transformation
from Janet Jackson the superstar
to Janet Jackson the punchline.
DAVID LETTERMAN: Welcome to the show.
Now, that's almost malfunctioning, isn't it?
JENNA: I remember that Dave Letterman interview.
‐ You smell wonderful. You always smelled great.
I really appreciate that in a guest.
‐ Thank you.
‐ Where he just kind of won't stop needling her.
‐ So it was just a mistake is what you're saying?
Justin Timberlake wasn't supposed
to pull your‐‐ rip your blouse off?
He wasn't supposed to do that?
He was? He wasn't?
‐ But you know, she's clearly trying to
talk about something else.
‐ What exactly transpired there?
‐ Dave, you're gonna make me relive this.
I want to put all that behind me.
‐ Well‐ ‐ I truly do.
‐ Well, not me.
JENNA: The way that Janet went from
this‐‐this top‐selling pop artist to just chum.
‐ Janet lost her damn mind,
whipping out her titty on a Sunday afternoon.
JENNA: It's just the clearest example
of misogynoir in our culture.
‐ And a 40‐year‐old titty, at that!
[laughter]
You can't just whip out a 40‐year‐old titty.
That's your man's titty. That is your man's titty.
‐ I mean I think that, for Janet Jackson,
the ultimate indignity might have been that
the "New York Times" actually ended up
critiquing Janet Jackson's breast and saying that...
PERSON: The "New York Times."
PERSON: It looked like
the average middle‐aged woman's breast.
It may not have helped her image as a sex symbol.
PERSON: I mean she had this, like, star on her breast.
‐ Mm‐hmm. ‐ It was like an ornament.
It was like a Christmas ornament.
‐ Mm‐hmm. I mean I think that's raising
a lot of suspicions among her fans.
‐ The idea that Janet had this decoration on her body
seemed like evidence that she was guilty.
‐ This could have very well been deliberate.
‐ Why else would she wear this nipple ring?
It's the biggest indictment of our culture,
the idea that a Black woman
wouldn't be adorning herself just for herself.
That she wouldn't want to be beautiful underneath
what she was wearing, just for her.
SHANNON: She was described as coming off
of an S&M catalog.
She was described as being this dominatrix.
Like she was "a bitch in heat."
The fact that she is a Black woman
and he is a white man further complicate that,
in terms of the race narrative, as well.
‐ People get together around their TVs
to celebrate football,
and to get entertained at halftime,
and not watching gangbang rappers grab
their private areas
or Janet Jackson expose her breast.
‐ This goes back to Antebellum America.
The dehumanization and the commodification
of Black bodies,
particularly Black female bodies.
If you see them as chattel,
then they're simply Black bodies
that really don't have crimes committed against them.
PERSON: This moment was so shockingly crude
and awful and horrifying.
Why has television played it 670,000 times?
‐ You know why, because people want to see it.
MATT: The Super Bowl immediately strained
Virgin's relationship with MTV.
All of a sudden, MTV was in trouble with CBS,
and they were dealing with those issues,
while we were dealing with our issues
of getting ready to release an album.
‐ Her latest CD is called "Damita Jo."
Please welcome Janet Jackson.
‐ There's effectively a blacklist.
I use this word advisedly,
because it wasn't across the board.
It wasn't as if the entire industry blacklisted Janet.
MATT: 'Cause nobody said to us,
"We're just not gonna play Janet."
You just had to kind of discern it, over time.
But meanwhile, the record is losing traction.
The record is losing steam.
‐ Clear Channel, at that time,
had about 1,200 radio stations across the country.
We had 200 million listeners a week.
All of the programming decisions were made locally,
and so there couldn't have been a systemwide blacklist.
Now, if there was a blacklist locally,
in Salt Lake City, for example, because the program manager
there knew that his audience was offended
by what Janet did on Super Bowl Sunday,
then that's entirely conceivable that her new album
wasn't played in Salt Lake City
on Clear Channel airwaves.
REPORTER: Two songs from her album have
fizzled on top 40 radio.
‐ ♪ This girl is down ♪
REPORTER: And MTV, the outfit that produced
the Super Bowl halftime show,
has not exactly gone bananas over her music video,
giving it no airplay whatsoever.
‐ I don't know if "blacklist" is the word that they tried
to do to my sister, but it sure seemed like
they were trying to diminish her career and her ability.
‐ We all knew, as a family.
We knew that they were in some way sabotaging Auntie Janet.
To me, when you're behind the scenes
influencing another artist's career,
you can call it whatever you want,
but her career suffered because of someone whose ego was hurt.
CHRIS: We'll never know how that album
would have done in a vacuum.
The album, the quality of the songs, the incident.
It's all mixed together in a stew
that we'll never be able to pull apart.
PERSON: A significant pock mark
on an otherwise brilliant career.
CATHY: The way Janet Jackson was deserted
by the successful white companies was despicable.
PERSON: Richard, right here please.
CATHY: Richard Branson said that he bought Necker Island
because of the success of "Rhythm Nation."
RICHARD: As Janet Jackson had a hit,
I would build a little piece of the island.
‐ And he didn't say a word?
RICHARD: Build another little piece of the island.
‐ The damage to Janet's reputation
has a cumulative effect,
and ultimately, she parts ways with Virgin Records,
and it would have a negative impact
on all aspects of her career.
She never made mainstream movies again, after that.
There had been an offer for her to portray Lena Horne
in a movie, and that offer was rescinded.
Disneyland had a statue of Mickey Mouse
in a "Rhythm Nation" outfit
which they took down after the Super Bowl.
McDonald's had a deal with Justin Timberlake
which stayed in place.
JUSTIN: ♪ McDonald's, bah‐dah‐bah‐bah‐bah ♪
♪ I'm lovin' it ♪
‐ Her career gets put on ice, and Justin is rewarded.
ALAN: Looking at how the two most,
biggest American brands dealt with these two stars
is really telling about how they were gonna be seen
in the culture, in a bigger way.
JENNA: He profits off of his proximity to Black culture
and his proximity to Janet, right,
and it took us a really long time to understand
just how messed up that was.
SAM: The issue is here that the airwaves that are used
by radio and television that are broadcast
are public airwaves.
They are owned by the public.
They are licensed from the public to radio stations,
and they must be used for the common good.
We're putting together a piece of legislation.
This is the Janet Jackson bill,
for lack of a better terminology.
Working with people, Parents Television Council,
other interested members, on this topic.
Committee members,
'cause now the committees had this big wave of interest.
FRED: Good morning, everyone. I have been swamped.
Thousands of letters and emails from folks downright desperate
and frustrated that the government has not adequately
used its authority to rein in broadcast indecency.
Ms. Wilson?
ANDY: Congresswoman Wilson was extremely effective
in getting her views across.
She was visibly shaken by the whole experience.
‐ I want to know how something like this made it
onto the show, in a very scripted,
rehearsed‐for‐weeks performance.
ANDY: Her view was that executives, like Mel Karmazin,
who was head of Viacom, know exactly what they're doing
when they put this kind of thing on the air.
HEATHER: You knew what you were doing.
You knew what kind of entertainment you're selling,
and you wanted us all to be abuzz here in this room,
and on the playground in my kids' school,
because it improved your ratings.
It improves your market share, and it lines your pockets.
Thank you, Mr. Chair.
‐ Ms. Jackson's unrehearsed
and unapproved display
went far beyond what is acceptable standards
for our broadcast network.
ANDY: Mr. Karmazin didn't really
fully take responsibility.
‐ It is clear that nobody at CBS,
nobody at Viacom,
nobody at MTV, and certainly nobody at the NFL
knew what was going to happen.
Ms. Jackson has now publicly admitted
that she and her choreographer,
unbeknownst to anyone else,
met privately, in advance, with Justin Timberlake.
‐ And really took absolutely no responsibility,
from the perspective of CBS.
‐ The exposure of Janet Jackson's breast‐‐
‐ Janet Jackson. ‐ Janet Jackson.
‐ Janet Jackson's Super Bowl show.
‐ The Janet Jackson incident.
JENNA: There was almost this rejoicing.
This gleefulness that we can now punish her.
‐ I must take issue with one aspect
of what I see and what I hear.
My friend from Nebraska, Mr. Terry,
and others have made comments calling the incident
at the Super Bowl the Janet Jackson incident.
Well, where's Justin Timberlake?
‐ Justin Timberlake deserves more than
just a slap on the hand.
It takes two to tango, and I think only a sleazy man
would allow Janet Jackson to take the full blame.
BOBBY RUSH: I must remind the members of the committee
this is, indeed, Black history month.
And with that in mind, I have to tell you
that when I saw this occurrence at the Super Bowl,
it innately reminded me of the kind of atrocities
that have been visited upon
not only African‐Americans in general,
but African‐American women, in particular.
I know that that's‐‐
SAM: The bill was a simple bill.
It communicated to the United States
and to the television industry
that we're gonna take this more seriously.
PERSON: Thank you.
TIM: Senator Brownback introduced legislation
that increased the fines by tenfold.
This was something that was a tangible victory.
ANDY: In the wake of the Janet Jackson incident,
unfortunately, Clear Channel got caught in the crosshairs.
‐ It's become increasingly difficult to do my show.
The same show I did a year ago
the government will fine me for.
I have millions of dollars of fines against me.
‐ The executives at Clear Channel Communications
have made it crystal clear to radio personality Howard Stern
that they will not tolerate raunchy content on the airwaves
pulling the shock jock show from six cities.
SAM: And Howard Stern ended up being terminated.
RACHEL: CBS was fined more than $1/2 million
after this incident which they fought,
and fought, and fought.
Les Moonves was so angry about how everything had gone down
with the halftime show that he even asked his executives,
in a meeting, whether they could make Janet Jackson pay
for the fines that would come from the FCC.
Nobody at CBS wanted to pay that fine,
if for no other reason than principle alone.
CBS appealed its fines
all the way up to the Supreme Court,
and ultimately, they got it overturned.
PAUL: You know, I'm not a big second‐guesser.
You play the game, and if you win, you win.
If you lose, you lose.
You don't sit around on Monday morning and say,
"If I had only done X, I would be a winner."
If I had to do it again, I would do what we did.
We fired some people.
SALLI: MTV was never invited again to do the halftime show.
We all sort of went our merry ways.
‐ I have never been invited‐‐ I know you're shocked‐‐
to ever direct again.
It's okay. My feelings aren't hurt.
JIM: I announced my resignation from the league
in August of 2004.
You know, in the 26 games I was in charge of,
this is one of those things that's gonna be out there
and remembered, probably more so than
some of the really good things that happened.
‐ I understand it was a huge headache for the NFL, CBS, MTV,
but the end result is you can't get around the fact
she took the hit for this.
CHRIS: Janet wore a scarlet letter for this incident
for quite a long time.
OPRAH: 24 hours after that Super Bowl,
Janet issued an apology,
and I had read in another magazine
that you regret making that apology.
Is that true? Why?
‐ Uh, it was an accident.
‐ Do you think Justin Timberlake
left you hanging out there?
SPECTATOR: Yes. SPECTATOR: Yes!
SPECTATOR: Yes. ‐ I am speaking to Ms. Jackson.
[laughter]
‐ You know, when we talk about racism,
and we talk about sexism,
the fallout from the Super Bowl incident
is what we're talking about. That's what it looks like.
‐ If you consider it 50/50, I mean I probably got 10%...
‐ Mm‐hmm. ‐ Of the blame.
And that‐‐I think that says something about society.
JENNA: Then, as the years went on,
while Justin just got bigger...
‐ It is great to be here hosting "Saturday Night Live."
JENNA: I think I just got angrier about it, you know.
Angrier and angrier about it.
JUSTIN: I do have time. JIMMY: You do have time?
‐ I do have time.
‐ You do halftime? ‐ I do halftime!
‐ You're doing the halftime show at the Super Bowl?
ALAN: 14 years after the 2004 incident,
Justin Timberlake is invited back to be the headliner
of the Super Bowl in 2018.
‐ ♪ Talk to me, boy ♪
‐ ♪ No disrespect, I don't mean no harm ♪
‐ ♪ Talk to me, boy ♪
‐ ♪ Hurry up ♪
♪ Hold up, stop ♪
CHRIS: It was basically the most obvious evidence
that almost nothing about that incident stuck to him.
REPORTER: While Justin has been forgiven
and gets to perform again this year,
some fans are calling for justice for Janet.
‐ Trending yesterday was "Janet Jackson appreciation day."
‐ The internet says,
"We are not gonna let this pass.
We don't forget."
I remember seeing those tweets bubble up and the images,
and I remember feeling so relieved,
you know, that the chapter wasn't over.
That the story wasn't closed on Janet.
ALAN: The support was definitely
a catalyst for Janet's induction
into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.
[cheers and applause]
‐ I want to say a personal word to each and every fan.
[cheers and applause] You've been with me
every step of the way.
FAN: Janet!
‐ Through all my ups. All my downs.
I have never‐‐I never have
and I never will take you for granted.
[cheers and applause]
I love you with all my heart. Thank you so much.
‐ The tide turned so much, actually, that Michael Powell,
who was the head of the FCC back in 2004,
comes out and says the reaction was overblown.
But it still feels bittersweet.
You know, it still feels like it took too long.
It feels like the pounds of flesh it extracted‐‐
We'll never know.
We'll never actually know how much it took
to get to where she is now.
‐ Ironically, what's considered appropriate now
is owning your sexuality.
Owning your identity.
Whether it's Ariana Grande, Nicki Minaj,
Beyoncé, obviously, and now Cardi B
and Megan Thee Stallion on a record like "WAP."
Women are generally applauded for their sexual agency.
DANYEL: I like women saying what they want to say,
and acting how they want to act,
and dressing how they want to dress.
And Janet Jackson laid all that groundwork.
‐ And Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. Please.
2020, induct more women. Thank you so much.
REPORTER: Breaking news. The "New Yorker" tonight
reporting allegations from six women
who say they were sexually harassed and intimidated
by the chairman and CEO of CBS, Les Moonves.
RACHEL: So 14 years later,
the man who had demanded more contrition from Janet Jackson
for supposed harm she did to CBS
was forced out of the company
when he was accused of sexual harassment
and dismissed those accusations
as an effort to destroy his career.
REPORTER: The latest round of accusations ranges
from violent encounters to sexual assault.
‐ And so for all of his ire, ultimately,
he was the one who had to step down in disgrace.
JENNA: I'm really grateful that we've arrived
at this moment of a cultural reckoning
and reevaluation of what happened,
but we should never forget what they did to Janet, right.
We should never forget that outrage.
What was the cost for this woman
and was it worth it?
["Control" by Janet Jackson]
♪ ♪
JANET: And I want to thank all of you
for making "Control"
#1 once again, after 35 years.
I never‐‐never in a million years.
I would never think that this would happen.
I really appreciate you, and I love you so, so much.
[soft dramatic music]
♪ ♪
[dramatic music]
♪ ♪