Super Bowl XXXVIII Halftime controversy
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Super Bowl XXXVIII was noted for a controversial halftime show produced by MTV and which aired live on the CBS television network. Singers Janet Jackson and Justin Timberlake were performing a duet of Timberlake's song Rock Your Body. The performance featured many suggestive dance moves by both Timberlake and Jackson. As the song reached the final line, "I'm gonna have you naked by the end of this song," Timberlake pulled off a part of Jackson's costume, revealing her right breast (adorned with a large, sun-shaped nipple ring). Many people considered this indecent exposure, and numerous viewers contacted CBS to complain, saying it was inappropriate in the context of a football game. Jackson and Timberlake stated that the exposure was an accident. CBS, MTV, the NFL, Jackson, and Timberlake have all apologized for the incident. Jackson later admitted the stunt was devised beforehand, but "went further than she planned." According to her spokeswoman, a red lace bra was supposed to remain when Timberlake tore off the outer covering. Timberlake blames the incident on a "wardrobe malfunction."
Subsequently, the NFL announced that MTV will never be involved in another halftime show. Besides Jackson's accidental exposure, the show featured numerous dancers and other participants in costumes which many viewers felt were inappropriate for a sporting event. Going mostly unnoticed by the media was Kid Rock's wearing of an American flag as a poncho, with a hole cut in it for his head; in his performance, he unceremoniously dumped the flag onto the stage. Many people considered this an act of flag desecration.
On February 4, Terri Carlin launched a class action lawsuit against Jackson and Timberlake on behalf of "all American citizens who watched the outrageous conduct." The lawsuit alleged that the halftime show contained "sexually explicit acts solely designed to garner publicity and, ultimately, to increase profits for themselves". The lawsuit seeked "maximum" punitive and compensatory damages from the performers. The lawsuit was soon dropped by Carlin.
The incident triggered a rash of fines that the Federal Communications Commission levied soon after the Super Bowl. Clear Channel Communications removed shock jock Howard Stern from several of its large-market radio stations within a month of the incident, citing the raunchy content of Stern's show. The FCC fined Clear Channel after a Florida-based radio show featuring Bubba the Love Sponge was charged with indecency. In September 2004, the FCC fined each of the 20 CBS-owned television stations the maximum $27,500 penalty for a total $550,000 fine. The fine was the largest ever against a television broadcaster.
The United States House of Representatives passed a bill, soon after the Super Bowl, to raise the maximum FCC fine penalty from USD $27,500 to $500,000 per violation. The United States Senate voted to increase it to $275,000 per incident, with a cap of $3 million per day. The two houses have not reconciled the differences in fine levels.
Some critics say that Jackson's few seconds of accidental nudity may undo the radio and television standards developed over the previous 40 years. As of September 2004, though, the chilling effect of the "wardrobe malfunction" seems to have been restricted only to commercial and non-cable television and radio.
As a result of the incident, some networks established regulations requiring time delays of as much as five minutes for live broadcasts such as awards shows and sporting events.
Just after the Jackson-Timberlake tangle, famed streaker Mark Roberts added to the controversial halftime by running around the field nearly-naked just before the start of the game's third quarter. However, Roberts's stunt was not seen on-air in America, as CBS chose to keep its cameras in a wide-shot view of the stadium as Roberts ran around the field.
