Read The Apology Justin Timberlake Issued To Janet Jackson 17 Years After The Infamous Super Bowl Wardrobe Malfunction
17 years ago, at the 2004 Super Bowl held in Houston, Texas, Janet Jackson and Justin Timberlake made headlines after a wardrobe malfunction took place at the halftime show.
During the performance, Justin ripped off a piece of Janet’s outfit, exposing her on live TV for 150 million people to see.
The incident, which became infamous known as the “wardrobe malfunction” made headlines and caused a wave of problems, especially for Janet.
LOS ANGELES – DECEMBER 1989: Musician Janet Jackson poses for a portrait session in Los Angeles, California on December 01, 1989. (Photo by Michael Grecco)
Janet became the most Google person that year and the next, and everyone was speculating about what had exactly happened on that stage.
As rumors and questions swirled, Janet issued an apology video.
She took complete responsibility for what had gone down at the halftime performance and said it was absolutely an accident.
“My decision to change the Super Bowl performance was made after the final rehearsal,” Janet explained in an apology video.
“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.”
Unfortunately, the incident that had lasted less than a second had a terrible impact on Janet’s career, with many people blaming her.
Meanwhile, Justin and his career seemed to remain largely unaffected by what happened. He was even invited back to perform at the 2018 Super Bowl.
LOS ANGELES – DECEMBER 1989: Musician Janet Jackson poses for a portrait session in Los Angeles, California on December 01, 1989. (Photo by Michael Grecco)
Janet was supposed to make an appearance a week later at the Grammy Awards, but she was then uninvited after what happened at the halftime show.
The NFL immediately blocked MTV from creating halftime shows in the future (they were responsible for this one), and in turn, Viacom (which owns MTV) issued a ban on Janet’s music and music videos, and they prevented the companies they owned from playing her content as well. They never issued a ban on Justin’s music though.
Around this time, Janet had released a new album, which was very much so overshadowed by the wardrobe malfunction.
Janet was also supposed to play the role of Lena Horne in a new movie, and she had no choice but to give up the role.
LOS ANGELES – DECEMBER 1989: Musician Janet Jackson poses for a portrait session in Los Angeles, California on December 01, 1989. (Photo by Michael Grecco)
2 years after the halftime show, Janet did an interview with Oprah, saying she was embarrassed by the whole thing and that it was an accident.
“All the emphasis was put on me, not on Justin. Justin…we were friends. And not that we aren’t now but we haven’t spoken…and I consider him a friend,” Janet explained to Oprah.
When Oprah asked Janet if she thought people had been too harsh on her after the incident, Janet replied that she did think that was the case.
“I think they did put all the emphasis on me, as opposed to us,” Janet said. While Janet mentioned to Oprah that Justin had reached out, she said she hadn’t spoken to him yet.
Now, 17 years after that infamous Super Bowl, Justin issued a public apology to Janet…and also to Britney Spears.
Here’s what he had to say.
LOS ANGELES – DECEMBER 1989: Musician Janet Jackson poses for a portrait session in Los Angeles, California on December 01, 1989. (Photo by Michael Grecco)
The apology note that Justin issued seemed to have come up after the new documentary about Britney Spears was released, which didn’t paint him in the most positive light.
“I’ve seen the messages, tags, comments and concerns and I want to respond,” Justin started out by saying.
“I am deeply sorry for the times in my life where my actions contributed to the problem, where I spoke out of turn, or did not speak up for what was right,” he continued.
“I understand that I fell short in these moments and in many others and benefited from a system that condones misogyny and racism.”
Justin then said that he wanted to apologize to Britney and Janet “both individually, because I care for and respect these women and I know I failed.”
You can read the entire apology below, and here’s how Janet replied.
Instagram; pictured above is the first part of Justin’s apology
Instagram; pictured above is the second part of Justin’s apology
Not long after Justin publicly issued his apology, Janet posted an inspirational quote to her Instagram page that said “always choose to heal, not hurt.”
Johnny Wright, Justin’s manager and the man who once managed Janet and Britney, commented on the quote, “You should take this advice and to apply it to your relationship with Justin.”
It’s not clear if that means that Justin and Janet haven’t actually spoken after the apology, but one thing is certain…Janet didn’t deserve to have her career implode for the halftime accident.
Twitter; pictured above is Johnny’s comment on Janet’s post
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