Although it’s been 14 years since Justin Timberlake ripped off a piece of Janet Jackson’s top and briefly exposed part of her breast at the Super Bowl’s halftime show, the CEO and chairman of CBS Les Moonves never got over it.
According to the Huffington Post, he’s been holding a grudge since the incident, later branded as “Nipplegate,” and tried his best to blackball Jackson.
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Sources said the 68-year-old is convinced that the torn clothing wasn’t a wardrobe malfunction as Jackson and Timberlake claimed, but a stunt just to stir up controversy.
Plus, he feels the “Control” singer didn’t apologize to him enough or show the right amount of contrition.
So one week after the Super Bowl, Moonves banned Jackson and Timberlake from being broadcast at the 2004 Grammy awards, which also aired on CBS. But after the NSYNC singer tearfully apologized he was allowed to perform. Janet, however, was still barred.
In fact, insiders said Moonves has a history of holding longtime grudges against people he feels have wronged him, and he does whatever it takes to make things difficult for them.
“I’m not interested in having that man following me to the grave and trying to screw me over the whole time,” said one source.
The disgraced CEO was also accused of telling VH1 and MTV to stop playing Jackson’s music videos and songs in 2004. Like MTV, CBS was owned by the company Viacom at the time, and Moonves allegedly used his influence to have radio stations pull Jackson’s music as well.
As a result, his efforts affected the sales of her album “Damita Jo,” which she released just one month after the Super Bowl incident.
Then, in 2011, the legendary singer released her book “True You: A Journey to Finding and Loving Yourself,” published by the CBS-owned Simon & Schuster. It was something that allegedly upset Moonves because he didn’t stop it on time.
“How the f—- did she slip through?” a source claimed he said.
Meanwhile, CBS is putting together an exit package for Moonves to leave the network after he was accused of sexual misconduct by six women. They also accused him of intimidation, and other workers have claimed abuse.
At this time, Jackson hasn’t responded to the report, and a representative for CBS declined to comment.
