Super Bowl XXXVIIISuper Bowl XXXVIII was an American football game played on February 1, 2004 at Reliant Stadium in Houston, Texas to decide the National Football League champion following the 2003 regular season....
, which was broadcast
liveLive television refers to television broadcast in real time. Today it is used mostly for programs such as Today, CBS This Morning, and local television news. However, from the early days of television until about 1958, it was used heavily, except for filmed shows such as I Love Lucy and Gunsmoke...
on February 1, 2004 from Houston,
TexasTexas is the second-largest U.S. state in both area and population, and the largest state in the contiguous United States.The name had wide usage among native Americans, meaning "friends" or "allies"...
on the
CBSCBS Broadcasting Inc. is an American television network, one of television's original "big three", which also include NBC and ABC. Like NBC, CBS started out as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System...
television network in the
United StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, was noted for a controversial
halftime showA halftime show is a performance given between the first and second halves, or the second and third quarters, of a sporting event. Halftime shows are not given for sports with an irregular or indeterminate number of divisions , or for sports that do not have an extended period of stoppage in play...
in which
Janet JacksonJanet Damita Jo Jackson is an American recording artist and actress. Born in Gary, Indiana, and raised in Encino, Los Angeles, California, she is the youngest child of the Jackson family of musicians...
's
breastThe breast is the upper ventral region of an animal’s torso, particularly that of mammals, including human beings. The breasts of a female primate’s body contain the mammary glands, which secrete milk used to feed infants....
, adorned with a
nipple shieldA nipple shield is a piece of body jewelry worn on the nipple, partially or fully covering the areola. The shield part of the jewelry encircles the nipple, and can be held in place by various means, such as adhesive, suction, or friction, but is most often held in place by a nipple piercing...
, was exposed by
Justin TimberlakeJustin Randall Timberlake is an American pop musician. He has won six Grammy Awards as well as two Emmy Awards. He got his big break when he appeared as a contestant on Star Search, and went on to star in the Disney Channel television series The New Mickey Mouse Club, where he met future bandmate...
for about half a second, in what was later referred to as a "
wardrobe malfunctionA wardrobe malfunction is an accidental instance of indecent exposure of intimate parts. It is different from flashing as the latter implies a deliberate exposure...
". The incident, sometimes referred to as
Nipplegate, was widely discussed. Along with the rest of the halftime show, it led to an immediate crackdown and widespread debate on perceived indecency in broadcasting, and resulted in a record $550,000 fine levied by the
Federal Communications CommissionThe Federal Communications Commission is an independent agency of the United States government, created, directed, and empowered by Congressional statute , and with the majority of its commissioners appointed by the current President...
(FCC) against CBS, as well as an increase of the FCC fine per indecency violation from $27,500 to $325,000. Additionally, some commentators saw the halftime show as a sign of decreasing morality in the national culture.
The halftime show was produced by
MTVMTV is a cable television network based in New York City and launched on August 1, 1981. The original purpose of the channel was to play music videos guided by on-air hosts known as VJs...
; at the time, both MTV and CBS were owned by the media group Viacom. In January 2006, the Viacom companies were split into separate entities, with CBS becoming part of the
CBS CorporationCBS Corporation is an American media conglomerate focused on broadcasting, publishing, billboards, and television production, with most of its operations in the United States. The President and CEO of the company is Leslie Moonves. Sumner Redstone, owner of National Amusements, is CBS's majority...
and MTV becoming part of the new
ViacomViacom , short for "Video & Audio Communications", is an American media conglomerate with various worldwide interests in cable and satellite television networks , and movie production and distribution with Paramount Motion Pictures Group. Paramount is also the distributor of movie studio DreamWorks...
group. Following the incident, the NFL announced that
MTVMTV is a cable television network based in New York City and launched on August 1, 1981. The original purpose of the channel was to play music videos guided by on-air hosts known as VJs...
, which also produced the halftime show for
Super Bowl XXXVSuper Bowl XXXV was played on January 28, 2001 at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida to decide the National Football League champion following the 2000 regular season. The American Football Conference champion Baltimore Ravens defeated the National Football Conference champion New York...
, would never be involved in another halftime show.
Since November 2004, CBS has challenged its fine for the halftime show on the grounds that the broadcast was unintentional and thus exempt from indecency regulation. In July 2008, the
United States Court of Appeals for the Third CircuitThe United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit is a federal court with appellate jurisdiction over the district courts for the following districts:* District of Delaware* District of New Jersey...
voided the FCC's fine, but in May 2009 the
Supreme CourtThe Supreme Court of the United States is the highest judicial body in the United States, and leads the federal judiciary. It consists of the Chief Justice of the United States and eight Associate Justices, who are nominated by the President and confirmed with the "advice and consent" of the Senate...
vacated that judgment and sent the case back to the Third Circuit for reconsideration.
The incident
Among several other acts, Jackson and Timberlake performed a medley of Jackson's songs
"All for You""All for You" is a song by American R&B-pop singer Janet Jackson from her seventh studio album, All for You . Released as the album's lead single in March 2001, the song went on to top the Billboard Hot 100 for seven weeks, and also reached the top five and the top ten of the majority of the charts...
and
"Rhythm Nation""Rhythm Nation" is the second single from American R&B-pop singer Janet Jackson's fourth studio album, Janet Jackson's Rhythm Nation 1814 .-Song information:...
and Timberlake's song
"Rock Your Body""Rock Your Body" is the third single from Justin Timberlake's solo debut album Justified. The song features Vanessa Marquez. She was at that time to Star Trak Entertainment....
during the halftime show. The performance featured many suggestive dance moves by both singers, and as Timberlake reached his final line of "Rock Your Body", "I'm gonna have you naked by the end of this song," Timberlake pulled off a part of Jackson's costume, revealing her right
breastThe breast is the upper ventral region of an animal’s torso, particularly that of mammals, including human beings. The breasts of a female primate’s body contain the mammary glands, which secrete milk used to feed infants....
, partially covered by a nipple shield, for nine-sixteenths of a second. In the immediate aftermath of the incident, the CBS broadcast cut to an aerial view of
Reliant StadiumReliant Stadium is a multiple-use stadium in Houston, Texas, USA. The stadium is the home of the National Football League's Houston Texans, the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo, the Texas Bowl, host to many international soccer matches for the USA National Soccer Team and other events...
, but was unable to do so before the picture was sent to millions of viewers' televisions.
Besides Jackson's "exposure", the show's other performances included gestures by the rapper
NellyCornell Haynes, Jr. , better known by his stage name Nelly, is a rapper, singer, actor and entrepreneur. He has performed with the rap group St. Lunatics since 1993 and signed to Universal Records in 1999. Under Universal, Nelly made his solo debut in 2000 with Country Grammar, the title track of...
toward his crotch and the musician
Kid RockRobert James Ritchie , known by his stage name Kid Rock, is an American singer-songwriter with five Grammy Award nominations...
appearing in a poncho made from a slitted American flag, which he later tossed into the crowd.
United States
In the United States, the exposure of Jackson's nipple shield led to much media controversy and headlines. The media watchdog group
Parents Television CouncilThe Parents Television Council is an American interest group founded by conservative activist L. Brent Bozell III in 1995. Through publications on its website including reviews, research reports, and online newsletters, the Council seeks to inform parents of television programs or other...
(PTC) issued a statement that same day condemning the halftime show, announcing that their members would file indecency complaints with the FCC and the council supported the FCC's decision to investigate the halftime show immediately. In addition, the FCC received nearly 540,000 complaints from Americans, with the PTC claiming responsibility for around 65,000 of them. In its appeal to the Third Circuit Court, CBS disputed how many of the complaints were filed by individual, non-organized viewers. Columnists L. Brent Bozell III and
Phyllis SchlaflyPhyllis McAlpin Stewart Schlafly is an American conservative political activist and constitutional attorney known for her opposition to feminism and the Equal Rights Amendment. Her bestselling book, A Choice, Not An Echo, was published in 1964 from her home in Alton, Illinois, across the...
also expressed criticism of the halftime show in their respective weekly columns.
DemocraticThe Democratic Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. It is the oldest political party in continuous operation in the United States and it is one of the oldest parties in the world. In the U.S...
senator
Zell MillerZell Bryan Miller is an American politician from the U.S. state of Georgia. A Democrat, Miller served as Lieutenant Governor from 1975 to 1991, Governor of Georgia from 1991 to 1999, and as United States Senator from 2000 to 2005....
of
GeorgiaGeorgia is a state in the United States. One of the original Thirteen Colonies that revolted against British rule in the American Revolution, it had been the last of the Thirteen Colonies to be established, in 1733. Georgia was the fourth state to ratify the United States Constitution, on January...
, both on the floor of the
United States SenateThe United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral United States Congress, the lower house being the House of Representatives. The composition and powers of the Senate and the House are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution . Each U.S state is represented by two senators,...
and in an editorial on
Salon.comSalon.com, part of Salon Media Group , often just called Salon, is an online magazine, with content updated each weekday. American liberal politics is its major focus, but it covers a range of issues. Reviews and articles about music, books and films are also a prominent feature of the site....
, denounced the halftime show as what he perceived as declining morality in America. On the day immediately following the Super Bowl, then-FCC chairman
Michael PowellMichael Kevin Powell is an American Republican politician. He was appointed to the Federal Communications Commission by President Bill Clinton on 3 November 1997. President George W. Bush designated him chairman of the commission on January 22, 2001...
ordered an investigation into the halftime show. Timberlake told
KCBS-TVKCBS-TV is the West Coast flagship station of the CBS Television Network located in Los Angeles, California. KCBS-TV shares its offices and studio facilities with sister station KCAL-TV inside CBS Studio Center in the Studio City section of Los Angeles, and its transmitter is located atop Mount...
a few days following the Super Bowl that even his own family was offended by the Super Bowl mishap. However, an
Associated PressThe Associated Press is an American news agency. The AP is a cooperative owned by its contributing newspapers, radio and television stations in the United States, which both contribute stories to the AP and use material written by its staff journalists...
poll taken nearly three weeks after the Super Bowl found that although 54% of American adults considered the exposure distasteful, only 18% supported the FCC's investigation.
The Super Bowl controversy was also a subject of comedy all across the late-night television shows. For example, CBS's own
Late Show with David LettermanLate Show with David Letterman is an American late-night talk show hosted by David Letterman on CBS. The show debuted on August 30, 1993, and is produced by Letterman's production company, Worldwide Pants Incorporated. The show's music director and bandleader of the house band, the CBS Orchestra,...
mocked the incident all week following the Super Bowl. Host
David LettermanDavid Michael Letterman is an American television host and comedian. He hosts the late night television talk show, Late Show with David Letterman broadcast on CBS. Letterman has been a fixture on late night television since the 1982 debut of Late Night with David Letterman...
jokingly commentated on the controversy the day after the Super Bowl that he "was happy to see this thing happen...because that meant for one night I wasn't the biggest boob on
CBSCBS Broadcasting Inc. is an American television network, one of television's original "big three", which also include NBC and ABC. Like NBC, CBS started out as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System...
." The next day, he also joked that President
George W. BushGeorge Walker Bush was the 43rd President of the United States from 2001 to 2009 and the 46th Governor of Texas from 1995 to 2000....
formed a "Department of Wardrobe Security" to prevent further wardrobe malfunctions like this. On February 4, Letterman opened his monologue by joking about having a
wardrobe malfunctionA wardrobe malfunction is an accidental instance of indecent exposure of intimate parts. It is different from flashing as the latter implies a deliberate exposure...
. Additionally, the Top Ten Lists featured on the program on that same night and two nights later briefly referenced the incident.
In an advertisement for the February 7, 2004 episode of
Saturday Night LiveSaturday Night Live is a weekly late-night sketch comedy and variety show filmed in New York City. It made its debut on October 11, 1975, under a slightly different title. The show features a regular cast of comedy actors, joined by a guest host and musical act...
, host
Megan MullallyMegan Mullally is an American actress, singer and media personality.After working in theatre in Chicago, Mullally moved to Los Angeles in 1981, and appeared in small or supporting roles in film and television productions....
explains that she will get the episode's musical guest,
Clay AikenClay Aiken is an American pop singer who began his rise to fame on the second season of the television program American Idol in 2003. RCA Records offered him a recording contract, and his multi-platinum debut album Measure of a Man was released in October 2003...
, "naked by the end of this promo". She proceeds to rip a piece of Aiken's shirt off, revealing a similar nipple shield, and she begins rubbing against Aiken in a sexually suggestive manner. Aiken replies, shocked, "that was NOT supposed to happen".
South ParkSouth Park is an American animated sitcom created by Trey Parker and Matt Stone for the Comedy Central television network. Intended for mature audiences, the show has become infamous for its crude, surreal, satirical, and dark humor that lampoons a wide range of topics...
took aim at the hysteria in its eighth season premiere, "
Good Times With Weapons"Good Times with Weapons" is episode 112 of South Park. The first episode of Season 8, it originally aired on March 17, 2004, which creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone jokingly referred to in their DVD commentary as "The Year From Hell"...
", on March 17 of that year when
Eric CartmanEric Theodore Cartman is a fictional character on the American animated television series South Park. One of the four main characters along with fellow protagonists Stan Marsh, Kyle Broflovski, and Kenny McCormick, Cartman is often portrayed as the series' main antagonist in opposition of his friends...
sneaks across a stage in the nude and later blames the incident on a "wardrobe malfunction." The townspeople are angered by Cartman's display, rather than feeling concern for a horribly mutilated and disoriented character (
ButtersLeopold "Butters" Stotch is a fictional character in the animated television series South Park. He is voiced by series co-creator Matt Stone and loosely based on co-producer Eric Stough. He is a fourth-grade student who commonly has extraordinary experiences not typical of conventional small-town...
) who is also present on stage, referring to the acceptance of violence and the taboo against sexual references. In the 2004
MTV Video Music AwardsThe MTV Video Music Awards, also called the VMAs, were established at the end of the summer of 1984 by MTV to celebrate the top music videos of the year...
, comedian
Dave ChappelleDavid Khari Webber "Dave" Chappelle is an American comedian, screenwriter, television/film producer, and actor. In 2003, he became widely known for his popular sketch comedy television series, Chappelle's Show. Comedy Central ranked him forty-third in the list of the 100 greatest stand-up...
jokingly told MTV that his appearance in the VMA was "the biggest mistake since you put Janet Jackson on the Super Bowl.".
Family GuyFamily Guy is an American animated television sitcom, created by Seth MacFarlane, for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series centers on the Griffins, a dysfunctional family which consists of Peter, Lois, Meg, Chris, Stewie, and their pet dog Brian...
also did an episode based around this "wardrobe malfunction". The episode "PTV" involved actor
David Hyde PierceDavid Hyde Pierce is an American actor and comedian, best known for his role as psychiatrist Dr. Niles Crane on the NBC sitcom Frasier.-Early life:...
having a trouser malfunction at the Emmys.
The halftime show continued to be a subject of discussion in 2005. At the beginning of 2005, the
parodyA parody , in contemporary usage, is a work created to mock, comment on, or poke fun at an original work, its subject, author, style, or some other target, by means of humorous, satiric or ironic imitation...
newspaper
The OnionThe Onion is an American "news satire" organization. It features satirical articles reporting on international, national, and local news as well as an entertainment newspaper and website known as The A.V. Club...
ran as its headline article for January 26, 2005, "U.S. Children Still Traumatized One Year After Seeing Partially Exposed Breast On TV". The article's satirical target was the nation's reaction to the incident, rather than the incident itself. On February 1, 2005, exactly one year after the halftime show, the PTC released a report titled
MTV Smut Peddlers: Targeting Kids with Sex, Drugs, and Alcohol, covering MTV programming during the network's "Spring Break" week from March 20 to 27, 2004, accusing MTV of irresponsibly promoting sex, drugs, and alcohol to impressionable youth. In response to the report, MTV network executive Jeannie Kedas argued that the report "underestimates young people's intellect and their level of sophistication." On February 6, however,
New York Times columnist
Frank RichFrank Rich is a center-left New York Times columnist who focuses on American politics and popular culture. His column ran on the front page of the Sunday Arts & Leisure section from 2003 to 2005; it now appears in the expanded Sunday Week in Review section.-Early career:Rich graduated from Harvard...
argued that
censorshipCensorship is the suppression of speech or deletion of communicative material which may be considered objectionable, harmful, sensitive, or inconvenient to the government or media organizations as determined by a censor.-Rationale:...
on television was becoming more prevalent following the halftime show in his February 6, 2005 column "The Year of Living Indecently". Examples he cited included more than sixty affiliates of
ABCThe American Broadcasting Company is an American television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. It first broadcast on television in 1948...
refusing to broadcast
Saving Private RyanSaving Private Ryan is a 1998 American war film set during the invasion of Normandy in World War II. It was directed by Steven Spielberg and written by Robert Rodat. The film is notable for the intensity of its opening 25 minutes, which depict the Omaha beachhead assault of June 6, 1944. Afterward,...
due to the
profanityThe original meaning of the adjective profane referred to items not belonging to the church, e.g...
prevalent throughout the film, which was to be aired unedited in its entirety by the network and PBS editing obscene language out of certain programs as the film
Dirty WarDirty War is a 2004 BBC, in association with HBO Films, made-for-TV movie thriller/drama about a terrorist attack on Central London, written by Lizzie Mickery and Daniel Percival. It was originally broadcast on BBC One on September 24, 2004, on HBO on January 24, 2005, and the first time on...
.
Abroad
In Canada, where the show was broadcast by
Global Television NetworkGlobal Television Network is a Canadian English language privately owned television network. It is owned by Canwest Media Inc., a division of Canwest which is headquartered in Winnipeg, Manitoba. Throughout the 1990s, it dominated primetime ratings in key markets such as southern Ontario, B.C...
, the incident passed largely without controversy: only about 50 Canadians complained about the incident to the
Canadian Broadcast Standards CouncilThe Canadian Broadcast Standards Council is an independent, non-governmental organization created by the Canadian Association of Broadcasters to administer standards established by its members, Canada's private broadcasters....
(CBSC). CBSC received roughly twice as many complaints about other aspects of the Super Bowl broadcast, including music and advertising issues (though some of those complaints were about
Canadian contentCanadian content refers to the controversial Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission requirements that radio and television broadcasters must air a certain percentage of content that was at least partly written, produced, presented, or otherwise contributed to...
/
simsubSimultaneous substitution is a sometimes controversial practice mandated by the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission requiring Canadian cable, direct broadcast satellite and multichannel multipoint distribution service television distribution companies to substitute a local...
issues preventing viewing of the popular American ads). Professor
Robert ThompsonRobert J. Thompson is an American educator.Thompson is the Trustee Professor of Television and Popular Culture at the S.I...
, director of the Center for the Study of Popular Television at
Syracuse UniversitySyracuse University is a private research university located in Syracuse, New York, U.S.A.. It was founded as a university in 1870, but its roots can be traced back to a seminary founded by the Methodist Episcopal Church in 1832 which eventually became Genesee College...
, was quoted by Peter Bowes of
BBC NewsBBC News, formerly BBC News and Current Affairs, is the department within the British Broadcasting Corporation responsible for the corporation's news-gathering and production of news programmes on BBC television, radio and online....
as speculating: "I know many people in other countries are scratching their heads and thinking 'What in the world is the big fuss over there?'"
Due to a lack of interest in the sport, and time differences, the event was not widely seen in Europe, Japan or Australia. However, the incident was widely broadcast throughout Europe, Australia and New Zealand the day after the incident, when the controversy itself became news. Many news shows broadcast the nipple exposure, with some showing it in slow-motion.
Legal action
On February 4, Terri Carlin, a banker residing in
Knoxville, TennesseeFounded in 1786, Knoxville is the third-largest city in the U.S. state of Tennessee, behind Memphis and Nashville, and is the county seat of Knox County. It is also the largest city in East Tennessee. As of the 2000 United States Census, Knoxville had a total population of 173,890; the July 2007...
, launched a
class actionIn law, a class action or a representative action is a form of lawsuit where a large group of people collectively bring a claim to court. This form of collective lawsuit originated in the United States and is still predominantly a U.S. phenomenon, at least the U.S. variant of it...
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 sought maximum
punitivePunitive damages are damages intended to reform or deter the defendant and others from engaging in conduct similar to that which formed the basis of the lawsuit...
and compensatory damages from the performers. Ms. Carlin later dropped the lawsuit. Three months later, Eric Stephenson, a lawyer from
Farmington, UtahFarmington is a city in Davis County, Utah, United States. It is part of the Ogden–Clearfield, Utah Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 12,081 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Davis County...
, filed a $5,000 lawsuit in small-claims court against Viacom for
false advertisingFalse advertising or deceptive advertising is the use of false or misleading statements in advertising. As advertising has the potential to persuade people into commercial transactions that they might otherwise avoid, many governments around the world use regulations to control false, deceptive or...
of the Super Bowl halftime show, as he, the father of three young children, claimed that pre-game advertising led him to believe that the halftime show would consist of
marching bandA marching band is, in the broadest terms, a group of performers that consist of instrumental musicians and sometimes dance teams / color guard who generally perform outdoors and incorporate some type of marching with their musical performance. Instrumentation typically includes brass, woodwinds,...
s, balloons, and a patriotic celebration. The lawsuit was rejected because Stephenson should have filed a
federalThe federal government of the United States is the central government entity established by the United States Constitution, which shares sovereignty over the United States with the governments of the individual U.S. states. The federal government has three branches: the legislative, executive, and...
lawsuitA lawsuit is a civil action brought before a court of law in which a plaintiff, a party who claims to have received damages from a defendant's actions, seeks a legal or equitable remedy. The defendant is required to respond to the plaintiff's complaint...
or complaint to the FCC, which was already investigating the halftime show.
America Online, the Internet service provider that sponsored the halftime show, demanded a refund of the approximately $7.5 million that it paid to sponsor and advertise on the halftime show. However, no other advertisers of the Super Bowl had similar demands.
The incident triggered a rash of fines that the FCC levied soon after the Super Bowl, alleging that the context of the "wardrobe malfunction" was intended "to pander, titillate and shock those watching" because it happened within the lyrics within Timberlake's performance of
Rock Your Body: "Hurry up 'cause you're taking too long... better have you naked by the end of this song." In addition, the FCC cited a news article on the website of MTV (MTV.com) claiming that the halftime show would promise "shocking moments" and that "officials of both CBS and MTV were well aware of the overall sexual nature of the Jackson/Timberlake segment, and fully sanctioned it—indeed, touted it as 'shocking' to attract potential viewers." CBS, however, argued that the exposure was unplanned, although in later statements CBS asserted that while the exposure was unplanned by CBS, it was deliberately planned by Timberlake and Jackson "independently and clandestinely". On September 22, 2004, the FCC fined
ViacomViacom , short for "Video & Audio Communications", is an American media conglomerate with various worldwide interests in cable and satellite television networks , and movie production and distribution with Paramount Motion Pictures Group. Paramount is also the distributor of movie studio DreamWorks...
the maximum $27,500 (US) penalty for each of the twenty CBS-owned television stations (including satellites of WFRV in
Green BayGreen Bay is a city in and the county seat of Brown County in the U.S. state of Wisconsin.The city is located at the head of its namesake Green Bay, a sub-basin of Lake Michigan, at the mouth of the Fox River. It has an elevation of 581 feet above sea level and is located 112 miles north of...
,
WCCOWCCO-TV, is the CBS owned and operated television station that serves the Minneapolis-St. Paul area of Minnesota. It broadcasts a digital television signal on channel 32 . It also operates two full-powered semi-satellites--KCCO-TV in Alexandria and KCCW in Walker . KCCO-TV simulcasts WCCO-TV, but...
in
MinneapolisMinneapolis is the largest city in the U.S. state of Minnesota and is the county seat of Hennepin County. The city lies on both banks of the Mississippi River, just north of the river's confluence with the Minnesota River, and adjoins Saint Paul, the state's capital. Known as the Twin Cities,...
, and KUTV in
Salt Lake CitySalt Lake City is the capital and the most populous city of the U.S. state of Utah. The name of the city is often shortened to Salt Lake or SLC. Salt Lake City has a population of 181,698 as of July 1, 2008, making it the 125th largest city in the United States...
; current CBS
owned-and-operated stationIn the broadcasting industry , an owned-and-operated station usually refers to a television station or radio station that is owned by the network with which it is associated...
KOVRKOVR, channel 13, is a CBS owned-and-operated television station licensed to Stockton, California, and serving the Sacramento-Stockton television market. The station is co-owned with CW affiliate KMAX-TV , and the two stations share facilities in West Sacramento...
in
SacramentoSacramento is the capital of the U.S. state of California, and the county seat of Sacramento County. Located along the Sacramento River and just south of the American River's confluence in California's expansive Central Valley. With a 2007 estimated population of 460,242, it is the seventh-largest...
at the time was owned by
Sinclair Broadcast GroupThe Sinclair Broadcast Group is the operator of the largest number of local television stations in the United States with a total of 57 stations across the country in 35 primarily small and medium markets, many of which are located in the South and the Midwest. Broadcasts by SBG stations can be...
) for a total $550,000 fine, the largest ever against a television broadcaster at that time. However, the Parents Television Council and even some of the FCC commissioners criticized the FCC for fining only twenty CBS stations, not all of them, for the halftime show. Sixty-six percent of respondents to a March 2005
TimeTime is an American newsmagazine. A European edition is published from London. Time Europe covers the Middle East, Africa and, since 2003, Latin America. An Asian edition is based in Hong Kong. As of 2009, Time no longer publishes a Canadian advertiser edition...
magazine poll believed that the FCC overreacted to the halftime show by fining CBS.
On November 24, 2004, Viacom paid out $3.5 million to settle outstanding indecency complaints and stated that it would challenge the $550,000 penalty related to the incident. The
Parents Television CouncilThe Parents Television Council is an American interest group founded by conservative activist L. Brent Bozell III in 1995. Through publications on its website including reviews, research reports, and online newsletters, the Council seeks to inform parents of television programs or other...
has frequently criticized the appeal because they have claimed hypocrisy in CBS's immediate apology in the days following the Super Bowl. In March 2006, the FCC affirmed that the Super Bowl halftime show was indecent, so CBS paid the FCC's issued fine in July 2006 in order to take their appeal against their fine to federal court. CBS appealed the fine on September 17 at the U.S. Third Circuit Court of Appeals in Philadelphia. On July 21, 2008, that court ruled in favor of CBS, throwing out the FCC's fine on the grounds that the enforcement involved a significant deviation from prior practice that wasn't announced as a clear policy change. On May 4, 2009, however, the Supreme Court
vacatedA vacated judgment makes the original judgment legally void. A vacated judgment is the result of the judgment of an appellate court which overturns, reverses, or sets aside the judgment of a lower court....
and remanded and the case back to the Third Circuit for reconsideration in light of the previously decided
Federal Communications Commission v. Fox Television StationsFCC v. Fox Television Stations is a 2009 legal case in which the United States Supreme Court upheld regulation of the Federal Communications Commission to ban "fleeting expletives" on television broadcasts.-Background:...
(2009).
Commercials
Prior to the broadcast, CBS rejected the
MoveOn.orgMoveOn is an American non-profit progressive, liberal public policy advocacy group and political action committee which has raised millions of dollars for candidates of the Democratic Party in the United States...
ad
Bush in 30 SecondsBushin30seconds.org is a liberal web site sponsored by MoveOn.org voter fund. The website showcases the results of a political advertising contest that was open to the public in November 2003, in which the goal was to explain key points about George W...
because it was deemed too controversial. CBS stated that it had a "decades-old" policy of rejecting ads regarding "controversial issues of public importance," although MoveOn charged that the networks had previously accepted similar ads from other groups. The Super Bowl broadcast featured numerous commercials for
erectile dysfunctionErectile dysfunction is a sexual dysfunction characterized by the inability to develop or maintain an erection of the penis sufficient for satisfactory sexual performance....
medicines and advertisements for
Anheuser-BuschAnheuser-Busch Companies, Inc., a wholly-owned subsidiary of Anheuser-Busch InBev, is the largest brewing company in the United States. The company operates 12 breweries in the United States and nearly 20 in other countries...
's Bud Light brand featuring a
flatulatingFlatulence is the expulsion through the rectum of a mixture of gases that are byproducts of the digestion process of mammals and other animals. The mixture of gases is known as flatus, fart, or simply gas, and is expelled from the rectum in a process colloquially referred to as "passing gas" or...
horse and a dog attacking male genitalia.
In a league-mandated policy meant to clear the airwaves of such advertisements, the NFL announced that those types of commercials would not air again during Super Bowl broadcasts (the league ended an advertising relationship with Levitra in March 2007 as an official league sponsor). Additionally, Anheuser-Busch said that ads akin to those would never be produced again. In January 2005,
FoxThe Fox Broadcasting Company , commonly referred to as Fox , is an American television network owned by Fox Entertainment Group, part of Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation. Launched on October 9, 1986, from 2004 to 2009 Fox was the highest-rated broadcast network in the 18–49 demographic...
, the network that carried
Super Bowl XXXIXSuper Bowl XXXIX was an American football game played on 6 February 2005, at Alltel Stadium in Jacksonville, Florida, to decide the National Football League champion following the 2004 regular season...
under the alternating network contract, rejected an advertisement for the cold remedy Airborne that briefly featured the naked buttocks of veteran actor
Mickey RooneyMickey Rooney is an American film actor and entertainer whose film, television, and stage appearances span nearly his entire lifetime. During his career he has won multiple awards, including an Academy Award, a Golden Globe and an Emmy Award...
.
Mark Roberts
Moments after the Jackson-Timberlake tangle,
streakerStreaking is the act of taking off one's clothes and running naked through a public place.-History:On 5 July 1799, a Friday evening at 7 o'clock, a naked man was arrested, at the Mansion House, London, and sent to the Poultry Compter...
Mark Roberts added to the controversial halftime by running around the field nearly-naked except for some writing on his body which read "SUPER BOWEL" on the front, an advertisement for online betting website
goldenpalace.comGoldenPalace.com is an online casino, hosted at Mohawk Internet Technologies, which is located in the Kahnawake Mohawk Territory near Montreal. They are well-known for their publicity stunts. They are also known for large 'bonuses' which must be waged a comparatively excessive fifty times before...
, and a well-placed
G-stringA G-string is a type of underwear, a narrow piece of cloth, leather, or plastic, that covers or holds the genitals, passes between the buttocks, and is attached to a band around the hips, worn as swimwear or underwear by women and men...
. Part of Roberts' stunt was seen on-air in the USA however, then CBS chose to keep its cameras in a wide-shot view of the stadium and quick cutaways to players and coaches as Roberts ran around the field until players from both competing teams, the
New England PatriotsThe New England Patriots, commonly called the "Pats", are a professional American football team based in the Greater Boston area, playing their home games in the town of Foxborough, Massachusetts at Gillette Stadium. The team is part of the East Division of the American Football Conference in the...
and the
Carolina PanthersThe Carolina Panthers are a professional American football team based in Charlotte, North Carolina, representing North Carolina and South Carolina in the National Football League. They are currently members of the South Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...
, tackled him.
Matt ChathamMatt Chatham is an American football linebacker who is currently a free agent. He played college football at South Dakota.-High school years:...
, the Patriots' special teams expert and reserve
linebackerA Linebacker is a position in American and Canadian football that was invented by football coach Fielding Yost of the University of Michigan. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and line up approximately three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage, behind the defensive linemen...
initially knocked Roberts down, thus allowing stadium security and police to arrest Roberts and eject him from
Reliant StadiumReliant Stadium is a multiple-use stadium in Houston, Texas, USA. The stadium is the home of the National Football League's Houston Texans, the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo, the Texas Bowl, host to many international soccer matches for the USA National Soccer Team and other events...
, the site of the game.
Roberts would return on October 28, 2007 when the NFL staged the first regular season game played outside North America before the second half of the New York Giants-Miami Dolphins contest at London's
Wembley StadiumThe original Wembley Stadium was a football stadium in Wembley, a suburb of north-west London, standing on the site now occupied by the new Wembley Stadium that opened in 2007.-History:...
in what he dubbed "Super Bowel Returns".
Censorship and regulation of broadcasting
Website Soap Opera Central speculated that the fallout from this incident may have had a subtle effect on
daytime televisionA soap opera, sometimes called "soap" for short, is an ongoing, episodic work of dramatic fiction presented in serial format on television or radio. The name "soap opera" stems from the original dramatic serials broadcast on radio that had soap manufacturers such as Procter & Gamble,...
. These television shows are known for "
love in the afternoon"Love in the Afternoon" was a well-known advertising campaign used by ABC to market its soap operas in the form of newspaper advertisements and television commercials...
" and regularly feature romantic couplings; shortly before the Super Bowl, the
Procter & GambleProcter & Gamble Co. is a Fortune 500, American multinational corporation headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio, that manufactures a wide range of consumer goods. As of 2008, P&G is the 8th largest corporation in the world by market capitalization and 14th largest US company by profit...
soap operaA soap opera, sometimes called "soap" for short, is an ongoing, episodic work of dramatic fiction presented in serial format on television or radio. The name "soap opera" stems from the original dramatic serials broadcast on radio that had soap manufacturers such as Procter & Gamble,...
s
As the World TurnsAs the World Turns is an American television soap opera that airs each weekday on CBS.Set in the fictional town of Oakdale, Illinois, the show debuted on Monday, April 2, 1956 at 1:30pm EST. Prior to April 2, 1956 all serials were fifteen minutes in length...
and
Guiding LightGuiding Light is an American daytime television drama and is credited by the Guinness Book of World Records as being the longest-running soap opera in production and the longest running drama in television and radio history...
had gone as far as featuring rear male nudity during lovemaking scenes. After the Super Bowl controversy, FCC commissioner Michael J. Copps stated that it was time for a crackdown on daytime television and indicated that he was reviewing whether soap operas were violating the agency's indecency prohibitions.
Two other major sporting events that followed the Super Bowl that year also were forced to clean up their respective halftime shows following the incident. The
Pro BowlIn professional American football, the Pro Bowl is the all-star game of the National Football League . Since the merger with the rival American Football League in 1970, it has been officially called the AFC-NFC Pro Bowl, matching the top players in the American Football Conference against those...
, which would be played on February 8, originally was to feature singer J.C. Chasez, who was a member of
boy bandIn pop or R&B a boy band is a group of several young male singers. The members are generally expected to perform as dancers as well, often executing highly choreographed sequences to their own music. More often than not, boy band members do not play musical instruments, either in recording sessions...
'N SyncN Sync was an American popgroup. The group's launch to fame was financed by the boy band mogul Lou Pearlman. Since 1997, 'N Sync has sold over 56 million records worldwide....
as was Timberlake, sing the
National AnthemA national anthem is a generally patriotic musical composition that evokes and eulogizes the history, traditions and struggles of its people, recognized either by a nation's government as the official national song, or by convention through use by the people.- History :Anthems rose to prominence...
before the game and perform his hit song "
Blowin' Me Up (with Her Love)"Blowin' Me Up " is the first solo single by JC Chasez and was released in the U.S. in February 2003. He is the second member from 'N Sync to pursue his career as a solo artist...
" at halftime. However, the NFL would not allow Chasez to perform during halftime due to the sexually suggestive content of his chosen song, (even though cable network
ESPNESPN is an American cable television network dedicated to broadcasting and producing sports-related programming 24 hours a day....
carried the game) replacing it with traditional Hawaiian dancers, which would be more appropriate for the game's atmosphere given that it was held in Aiea, Hawaii, a suburb of
HonoluluHonolulu is the capital of and the most populous census-designated place in the U.S. state of Hawaii. Although Honolulu refers to the urban area on the southeastern shore of the island of Oahu, the city and the county are consolidated, known as the City and County of Honolulu, and the city and...
and many television viewers in the nation were still in shock from the Super Bowl incident. The
2004 NBA All-Star GameThe 2004 National Basketball Association All-Star Game was played on February 15, 2004 in front of an attendance of 19,662 at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, California, home of the Los Angeles Clippers and Los Angeles Lakers...
also cleaned up its act, despite being broadcast on
cable televisionCable television is a system of providing television to consumers via radio frequency signals transmitted to televisions through fixed optical fibers or coaxial cables as opposed to the over-the-air method used in traditional television broadcasting in which a television antenna is required...
channel
TNTTNT is an American cable TV channel created by media mogul Ted Turner and currently owned by the Turner Broadcasting System division of Time Warner which also owns Cartoon Network. However, despite the fact that it is a channel, it is seen all across the United States, much like a television...
that was not under FCC regulation as with all other cable channels, having halftime performer
Beyoncé KnowlesBeyoncé Giselle Knowles , often referred to mononymously as Beyoncé , is an American R&B singer, songwriter, record producer, actress and model. Born and raised in Houston, Texas, she enrolled in various performing arts schools and was first exposed to singing and dancing competitions as a child...
perform "Crazy in Love" rather than "
Naughty Girl"Naughty Girl" is an R&B–disco song written by Beyoncé Knowles, Scott Storch, Robert Waller, and Angela Beyincé for Beyoncé's debut solo album, Dangerously in Love . Produced by Beyoncé and Storch, the song lives up to the Western sound of its predecessor "Baby Boy"...
", which they feared would incite controversy given its sexual content. Ironically, Jackson was in attendance at the game, and dressed conservatively. The networks that were to broadcast the 46th Grammy Awards and the
76th Academy AwardsThe 76th Academy Awards ceremony honored the best films of 2003 and was broadcast from the Kodak Theatre in Hollywood, California on ABC beginning at 5:30 p.m. PST/8:30 p.m. EST, February 29, 2004 . The show was produced by Joe Roth and was hosted for the eighth time by comedian Billy Crystal.The...
, live events scheduled for February 8 and February 29 respectively, initiated a delay (up to ten minutes) to ensure that profanity and obscenity were not seen or heard. Since then, both award shows have used the tape delay, and also have taped their awards two days before their air date.
Following these announcements,
Guiding Light edited out nudity from an episode that had already been taped. A week later, the show's executive producer
John ConboyJohn Conboy is an American soap opera producer.Conboy is best known for bringing glamorous production values to a show soon after he is hired, such as adding elaborate sets, dimming the lighting, hiring beautiful young actors, and using unique camera angles...
was fired and replaced by
Ellen WheelerEllen Wheeler is an American actress, director and producer. She has appeared in several soap operas, including Another World and All My Children. In 1986, she won the Daytime Emmy Award for "Outstanding Ingenue in a Drama Series" for her work as twins Marley and Vicky Love Hudson on Another World...
. All nine American network soaps began to impose an unwritten rule of avoiding any sort of risqué adult scenes, and in the months following, soap opera periodical
Soap Opera DigestSoap Opera Digest is a weekly magazine covering American daytime soap operas. It features onscreen and offscreen news about the series, interviews with and articles about performers, storyline summaries and analysis, and related promotional information...
editors wrote about how daytime television was losing its steam.
NBCThe National Broadcasting Company is an American television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices in Burbank,California...
also re-edited a scene from an episode of its medical drama
ERER is an American medical drama series created by novelist Michael Crichton that aired on NBC from September 1994 to April 2009. It is set primarily in the emergency room of fictional County General Hospital in Chicago, Illinois. It was produced by Constant c Productions and Amblin Entertainment in...
where paramedics were wheeling an elderly woman into the hospital, and her breast could be seen non-explicitly in the context of her injury and treatment. Even as late as Veteran's Day of 2004, 65
ABCThe American Broadcasting Company is an American television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. It first broadcast on television in 1948...
network affiliates pre-empted the uncut network presentation of the film
Saving Private RyanSaving Private Ryan is a 1998 American war film set during the invasion of Normandy in World War II. It was directed by Steven Spielberg and written by Robert Rodat. The film is notable for the intensity of its opening 25 minutes, which depict the Omaha beachhead assault of June 6, 1944. Afterward,...
over concerns about the film's violent and profane content and FCC regulations. Benjamin Svetkey of
Entertainment WeeklyEntertainment Weekly is an American magazine, published by the Time division of Time Warner, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books and popular culture. Unlike celebrity-focused publications US Weekly, People, and In Touch Weekly, EWs primary concentration is on entertainment...
quoted L. Brent Bozell III and
Peggy NoonanPeggy Noonan is an American author of seven books on politics, religion, and culture, a weekly columnist for The Wall Street Journal, and was a primary speech writer and Special Assistant to President Ronald Reagan...
associating the mass pre-emption of
Ryan with the halftime show incident.
Clear Channel CommunicationsClear Channel Communications is an American media conglomerate company headquartered at 200 East Basse Road in San Antonio, Texas. It was founded in 1972 by Lowry Mays and Red McCombs, who wields considerable influence in radio broadcasting, concert promotion and hosting, and fixed advertising in...
removed talk-radio host
Howard SternHoward Allan Stern is an American radio and media personality most notable for his radio show which since January 9, 2006, has been broadcasting on Sirius XM, an uncensored satellite radio service...
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 over allegedly indecent content in the
Bubba the Love SpongeBubba the Love Sponge is a controversial radio talk show host. Bubba's radio shows are broadcast on Howard 101 at Sirius Satellite Radio and on various Cox Radio stations....
radio show. 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. In late 2004, the
United States House of RepresentativesThe United States House of Representatives, commonly referred to as the "House," is the lower house of the bicameral United States Congress, the upper house being the United States Senate. The composition and powers of the House and the Senate are established in Article One of the Constitution...
passed a bill to raise the maximum FCC fine penalty from said $27,500 to $500,000 per violation; the
United States SenateThe United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral United States Congress, the lower house being the House of Representatives. The composition and powers of the Senate and the House are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution . Each U.S state is represented by two senators,...
voted to decrease it to $275,000 per incident, with a cap of $3 million per day. By June 2006, the two houses reconciled the differences in fine levels, settling for a fine of $325,000 (US) per violation in the
Broadcast Decency Enforcement Act of 2005The Broadcast Decency Enforcement Act of 2005 was legislation in the United States Senate that increased penalties for broadcasters who violate FCC decency standards.The bill was sponsored by Sen. Sam Brownback, Republican of Kansas....
.
The incident also prompted tighter control over content by station owners and managers. Viacom, at the center of the controversy, also employed the controversial
Howard SternHoward Allan Stern is an American radio and media personality most notable for his radio show which since January 9, 2006, has been broadcasting on Sirius XM, an uncensored satellite radio service...
in its radio division (at the time called Infinity Broadcasting). The expanding control on content is said to be a contributing factor that drove Stern away from terrestrial radio and onto
Sirius Satellite RadioSirius Satellite Radio is a satellite radio service operating in the United States and Canada, owned by Sirius XM Radio. Headquartered in New York City, with smaller studios in Los Angeles and Memphis, Sirius was officially launched on July 1, 2002 and currently provides 69 streams of music and...
. It has also been reported that some teen-oriented awards shows in the summer of 2004 had also been purged of most sexual and profane content that had been perceived as staples in such awards shows in the past, including Fox's
Teen Choice AwardsThe Teen Choice Awards is an awards show presented annually by FOX. The program honors the year's biggest achievements in music, movies, sports, television, fashion and more, as voted on by teens aged 13–19. The program usually features a high number of celebrities and musical performers...
and MTV's self-created
Video Music AwardsThe MTV Video Music Awards, also called the VMAs, were established at the end of the summer of 1984 by MTV to celebrate the top music videos of the year...
. Author Frederick S. Lane stated in an interview with John Eggerton of
Broadcasting & CableBroadcasting & Cable magazine is a television industry trade magazine published by Reed Business Information. Previous names included Broadcasting/Telecasting and Broadcasting....
magazine that the controversy surrounding the halftime show was the primary inspiration for his 2006 book
The Decency Wars: The Campaign to Cleanse American Culture, which explains moral controversies in the American media over the years.
Furthermore, the annual
Victoria's SecretVictoria's Secret is an American retailer of women's wear, lingerie and beauty products. It is the largest segment of publicly-traded Limited Brands with sales surpassing US$5 billion and an operating income of $1 billion in 2006...
fashion show was cancelled for that year.
Sports broadcasting
The NFL also came under some smaller controversies over its telecasts. The FCC received a complaint about a telecast of a playoff game between the
Green Bay PackersThe Green Bay Packers are a professional American football team based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. They are members of the North Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League and are the third-oldest franchise in the NFL.The Packers are the last vestige of "small town...
and
Minnesota VikingsThe Minnesota Vikings are a professional football team based out of Minneapolis, Minnesota. The Vikings compete in the North Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . Prior to divisional realignment in 2002, they had been a member of the Central Division, also...
from January 2005 on
FOXThe Fox Broadcasting Company , commonly referred to as Fox , is an American television network owned by Fox Entertainment Group, part of Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation. Launched on October 9, 1986, from 2004 to 2009 Fox was the highest-rated broadcast network in the 18–49 demographic...
, the complainant alleging that Minnesota player
Randy MossRandall Gene Moss is an American football wide receiver for the New England Patriots of the National Football League. He was originally drafted by the Minnesota Vikings 21st overall in the 1998 NFL Draft...
, who scored a touchdown, apparently made movements appearing to
moonMooning is the act of displaying one's bare buttocks by removing clothing, e.g., by lowering the backside of one's trousers and underpants, usually bending over, whether also exposing the genitals or not...
the spectators. However, the FCC denied the complaint because Moss was fully clothed at all times, and his gestures were shown for only a few seconds, thus warranting that the display was not indecent; game announcer
Joe BuckJoseph Francis "Joe" Buck is an American sportscaster and the son of sportscaster Jack Buck. He has won numerous Sports Emmy Awards for his play-by-play work with Fox Sports.-Education:...
also immediately condemned the act (and additionally, Moss was fined by the NFL). On January 13, 2007, during coverage on FOX of an NFL playoff game between the
New Orleans SaintsThe New Orleans Saints are a professional American football team based in New Orleans, Louisiana. The Saints play in the South Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League ....
and
Philadelphia EaglesThe Philadelphia Eagles are a professional American football team based in Philadelphia. They are members of the East Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...
, after New Orleans safety
Josh BullocksJosh Bullocks is an American football safety for the Chicago Bears of the National Football League. He was drafted by the New Orleans Saints in the second round of the 2005 NFL Draft...
intercepted the ball from Philadelphia
wide receiverA wide receiver is an offensive position in American and Canadian football, and is the key player in most of the passing plays. Only players in the backfield or the ends on the line are eligible to catch a forward pass. The two players who begin play at the ends of the offensive line are eligible...
J.J. Outlaw, the camera cut to the stands, showing for four seconds the words "
FUCKFuck is an English word that is generally considered profane, that in its most literal meaning refers to the act of sexual intercourse. However, by extension it may be used to negatively characterize anything that can be dismissed, disdained, defiled, or destroyed, and it is due to the convergence...
DA EAGLES" on a woman's shirt. That drew a backlash from the
Parents Television CouncilThe Parents Television Council is an American interest group founded by conservative activist L. Brent Bozell III in 1995. Through publications on its website including reviews, research reports, and online newsletters, the Council seeks to inform parents of television programs or other...
, who filed complaints with the FCC.
During the live broadcast of
Super Bowl XLIIISuper Bowl XLIII was an American football game pitting the American Football Conference champion Pittsburgh Steelers against the National Football Conference champion Arizona Cardinals to decide the National Football League champion for the 2008 season...
on February 1, 2009, the original incident's five-year anniversary, on
NBCThe National Broadcasting Company is an American television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices in Burbank,California...
, the analog but not digital feed of the
ComcastComcast Corporation , founded in 1963, is the largest cable operator in the United States, providing cable television, broadband Internet, and telephone service to both residential and commercial customers. Comcast is headquartered in the One Comcast Center in Center City, Philadelphia,...
cable service in
Tucson, ArizonaTucson is a city in and the county seat of Pima County, Arizona, United States, located 118 miles southeast of Phoenix and 60 miles north of the U.S.-Mexico border. As of July 1, 2006, a Census Bureau estimate puts the city's population at 541,811, with a metropolitan area population at...
and vicinity was interrupted by an unknown party, when 30 seconds from
Playboy EnterprisesPlayboy Enterprises, Inc. , also organized as New Playboy, Inc. , is the company founded by Hugh Marston Hefner to manage the Playboy magazine empire. Today, Playboy Enterprises, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, engages in the development and distribution of adult entertainment. The Playboy...
–owned adult cable television channel
ShorteezThe Spice Network is a group of pornographic pay-per-view channels appearing on cable, IPTV and satellite services, and available in more than 72 countries including the United States, New Zealand and the United Kingdom...
was broadcast to homes just after
Larry FitzgeraldLarry Darnell Fitzgerald, Jr. , is an American football wide receiver for the Arizona Cardinals of the National Football League. He was drafted third overall in the 2004 NFL Draft by the Cardinals...
scored his fourth quarter touchdown to take the Cardinals to a 23-20 lead. Afterwards, 10 seconds of an end credit segment from
ClubJennaClubJenna, Inc. is a multi-media adult entertainment company based in Scottsdale, Arizona. It was founded in 2000 by adult film actress Jenna Jameson, and Jay Grdina, who performed as an adult film actor under the name Justin Sterling and today is president of ClubJenna, Inc...
, another Playboy-owned channel, was shown. Comcast offered a $10 credit for customers who claimed to have seen the incident, and the
Federal Communications CommissionThe Federal Communications Commission is an independent agency of the United States government, created, directed, and empowered by Congressional statute , and with the majority of its commissioners appointed by the current President...
announced that it would investigate the cause of the incident. Josh Grossberg of
E!E!: Entertainment Television is an American cable television and direct broadcast satellite network. From November 2006 onwards, it became wholly owned by Comcast.- History :...
stated: "This almost makes us nostalgic for the days of Nipplegate."
2004 presidential election
Frederick S. Lane wrote in his 2006 book
The Decency Wars that the Super Bowl halftime show controversy influenced the primary focus on "moral values" and "media decency" in the
2004 Democratic Party primariesTen candidates vied for the nomination, including retired four-star general Wesley Clark, former Vermont Governor Howard Dean, and Senators John Edwards and John Kerry. For most of 2003, Howard Dean had been the apparent front-runner for the nomination, performing strongly in most polls and...
. After the re-election victory of incumbent candidate
George W. BushGeorge Walker Bush was the 43rd President of the United States from 2001 to 2009 and the 46th Governor of Texas from 1995 to 2000....
,
exit pollAn election exit poll is a poll of voters taken immediately after they have exited the polling stations. Unlike an opinion poll, which asks whom the voter plans to vote for or some similar formulation, an exit poll asks whom the voter actually voted for. A similar poll conducted before actual...
s immediately following the elections revealed that nearly 20% of voters chose morality as their priority issue in voting, and 78% of voters who identified as "born-again Christian" voted for Bush. Frank Rich of
The New York Times considered the 2004 re-election of Bush to be the "greatest coup of all" from the exposure of Janet Jackson's breast.
Impacts on Jackson and Timberlake
Jackson's first album released since the Super Bowl was
Damita Jo. A majority of the reviews for the album, including those by Allmusic,
BBCThe British Broadcasting Corporation, usually referred to by its abbreviation as the "BBC", is the longest established and largest broadcaster in the world...
,
Entertainment WeeklyEntertainment Weekly is an American magazine, published by the Time division of Time Warner, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books and popular culture. Unlike celebrity-focused publications US Weekly, People, and In Touch Weekly, EWs primary concentration is on entertainment...
,
The GuardianThe Guardian is a British daily newspaper owned by the Guardian Media Group. Founded in 1821, it is unique among major British newspapers in being owned by a foundation .The Guardian Weekly, which circulates worldwide, provides a compact digest of four newspapers...
, and
The New York TimesThe New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded in 1851 and published in New York City. The largest metropolitan newspaper in the United States, "The Gray Lady"—named for its staid appearance and style—is regarded as a national newspaper of record...
wrote about the negative backlash suffered by Jackson as a result of the incident, but gave moderate to favorable reviews to the album itself.
Stephen Thomas ErlewineStephen Thomas Erlewine is a senior editor for allmusic.com. He is the author of many of artist biographies and record reviews for allmusic, as well as a freelance writer, occasionally contributing liner notes. He is also frontman and guitarist for the Ann Arbor-based band Who Dat?Erlewine is the...
wrote: "'Relax, it's just sex,' ... Those words were recorded long before Jackson wound up America with her breast-baring exploits at the halftime show at the 2004 Super Bowl, but they nevertheless play like an casual response to the hysteria that engulfed the nation following her infamous 'wardrobe malfunction'." Ian Wade of BBC commented "Stupid Americans decide to sue everyone involved for the distress caused and Janet Jackson is suddenly the most despised woman on Earth."
The New York Times noted "[a]fter her right breast upstaged the Super Bowl, she was criticized by the first lady, vilified by media executives and abandoned by her co-conspirator, Justin Timberlake; less excitable commentators suggested she was merely a shrewd publicity-stuntwoman with a new album to promote." Despite commentary the album was a commercial failure, it sold over two million copies worldwide and received three Grammy nominations in 2005; Lynn Norment remarked: "For Janet Jackson, whose
ControlControl is the third studio album by American recording artist Janet Jackson, released on February 6, 1986 by A&M Records, and is widely regarded as the breakthrough album of her career...
(1986) sold more than 10 million units and Rhythm Nation ( 1989) more than 12 million copies, even a 2 million-seller can be viewed by critics as a bomb." Keith Caulfield of
Billboard commented, "[f]or a singles artist like Jackson, who has racked up 27 top 10 Hot 100 singles in her career, including 10 No. 1s," the fact that none of the albums singles reached the top 40 "could probably be considered a disappointment." Her following album,
20 Y.O.20 Y.O. is the ninth studio album by American R&B-pop singer Janet Jackson, released by Virgin Records on September 20, 2006 in Japan, September 22 internationally, and September 26 in Canada and the United States...
, did not sell as well despite better critical reception. Jackson's music videos initially lost airplay on channels such as MTV and
VH1VH1 is an American cable television network based in New York City...
.
Some observers argued that the media reaction after the incident focused disproportionately on Jackson, "[...] represent[ing] her as a contemporary Jezebel in that her racial and gendered Otherness was often juxtaposed with the 'normalcy' of Timberlake's white masculinity. That is, she emerged in a public discourse as the primary (if not sole) instigator of the lewd act, a scheming seductress who manipulated Timberlake for her own economic gain."
Jackson appeared on CBS's
Late Show with David LettermanLate Show with David Letterman is an American late-night talk show hosted by David Letterman on CBS. The show debuted on August 30, 1993, and is produced by Letterman's production company, Worldwide Pants Incorporated. The show's music director and bandleader of the house band, the CBS Orchestra,...
on March 29, 2004. In April 2004, Jackson made fun of herself in a
Saturday Night LiveSaturday Night Live is a weekly late-night sketch comedy and variety show filmed in New York City. It made its debut on October 11, 1975, under a slightly different title. The show features a regular cast of comedy actors, joined by a guest host and musical act...
appearance, first while playing
Condoleezza RiceCondoleezza Rice is a professor, diplomat, author, and national security expert. She served as the 66th United States Secretary of State, and the second to hold that office in the administration of President George W. Bush...
in a skit, nervously answering a question by exposing her right breast, which was
pixelatedPixelization is a video- and image-editing technique in which an image is blurred by displaying part or all of it at a markedly lower resolution. It is primarily used for censorship...
by NBC, then by viewing a mock home video from her childhood when her bathing suit top came off in a wading pool. Two NBC affilaites in
MaineThe State of Maine is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States, bordering the Atlantic Ocean to the southeast, New Hampshire to the southwest, and the Canadian provinces of Quebec to the northwest and New Brunswick to the northeast. Maine is the northernmost portion of...
, owned by Gannett pulled the plug on the show following the first segment of the original airing and later did not rebroadcast the repeat broadcast of that episode. In
2006The year 2006 in television involved some significant events.Below is a list of television-related events in 2006.For the American TV schedule, see: 2006-07 United States network television schedule.-Events:-Debuts:-Miniseries:*In Justice...
, during an interview on
The Oprah Winfrey ShowThe Oprah Winfrey Show is a United States syndicated talk show, hosted and produced by its namesake Oprah Winfrey, and is the highest-rated talk show in American television history...
, Jackson upheld her claim that the Super Bowl scandal was an accident.
In the meantime after the Super Bowl, Justin Timberlake won two Grammy awards in 2004 and put his musical career on hiatus to focus on
actingActing is the work of an actor or actress, which is a person in theatre, television, film, or any other storytelling medium who tells the story by portraying a character and, usually, speaking or singing the written text or play...
. In 2006, Timberlake released an album,
FutureSex/LoveSoundsFutureSex/LoveSounds is the second studio album by American pop and R&B singer Justin Timberlake, released September 12, 2006 on Jive Records. Recording sessions for the album took place during November 2005 to July 2006 at Thomas Crown Studio in Virginia Beach, Virginia...
, which peaked at number one on the
Billboard 200The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling new music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists...
and spawned three number-one singles, including "
SexyBack"SexyBack" is a song by American singer–songwriter Justin Timberlake from his second studio album, FutureSex/LoveSounds . It was released on July 7, 2006, by Jive Records as the lead single from the album...
", "
My Love-Albums:* My Love , or the title song* My Love , or the title song* My Love , or the title song * My Love: Essential Collection, by Celine Dion, or the title song...
", and "
What Goes Around.../...Comes Around"What Goes Around.../...Comes Around" is a song by American singer Justin Timberlake. The track was created after Justin and collaborators Timbaland and Nate "Danja" Hills were fooling around Timbaland's studio in Virginia Beach. They produced the song for Timberlake's second solo studio album,...
". Timberlake also told
MTVMTV is a cable television network based in New York City and launched on August 1, 1981. The original purpose of the channel was to play music videos guided by on-air hosts known as VJs...
that he "probably got 10 percent of the blame", later explaining that "America's harsher on women" and "unfairly harsh on ethnic people", referring to the backlash suffered by him and Jackson. Timberlake starred in a Pepsi-Cola ad airing during
Super Bowl XLIISuper Bowl XLII was an American football game that featured the National Football Conference champion New York Giants and the American Football Conference champion New England Patriots to decide the National Football League champion for the 2007 season...
and hosted the 2008
ESPY AwardsThe ESPY Awards is an annual sports awards event created and broadcast by American cable television network ESPN. Begun in 1993, the event confers eponymous awards, fully styled as Excellence in Sports Performance Yearly Awards, for individual and team athletic achievement and other sports-related...
on
ESPNESPN is an American cable television network dedicated to broadcasting and producing sports-related programming 24 hours a day....
in July 2008.