The infamous 2004 Super Bowl Nipplegate shocker has made its way back into relevancy recently after Justin Timberlake‘s culpability was called into question following the release of “Framing Britney Spears,” which had audiences looking back into the former boy band member’s rise at the expense of both Janet Jackson‘s and Spears’ career reputations for a time.
Production company Left/Right TV, which was also behind the Spears-centric Hulu documentary that was released as part of “The New York Times Presents” series, will spotlight how a different pop culture icon, Ms. Jackson herself, was impacted by the scandalous moment, reports Page Six. In “Framing Britney Spears,” the “What Goes Around” singer’s contributions to Spears’ public downfall are addressed head-on and in the upcoming, yet-to-be-titled Jackson-focused film, he will once again find himself at the center of an event that worked out great for him, but not so well for the woman involved.
According to a Page Six source, the documentary will “be all about the fallout and the suits who f****d over Janet [at] Viacom,” that source said of MTV’s parent company, which produced the halftime show, and CBS, the network that aired the game. Also, according to the source, the filmmakers will be speaking to everyone involved who will speak to them. “They’re reaching out to everyone who was involved: dancers, stylists, directors. Everyone.”
Earlier this month, a former stylist who worked with Jackson and Timberlake during Super Bowl XXXVIII alleged that the mishap was no accident, but instead a ploy for publicity straight from the “Cry Me a River” artist himself. “Janet was going to be in a Rocha dress, and [Justin] was going to step on the back of her dress to reveal her butt in this pearl G-string,” Wayne Scot Lukas dished. However “the outfit changed a couple of days before, and you saw the magic.”
Lukas alleged that the reason for the last-minute change was because Timberlake wanted to outdo the raunchy Madonna, Brittney Spears, Christina Aguilera kiss that took place at the 2003 MTV Video Music Awards, just a few months prior to the big game. According to the stylist, the “Four Minutes” singer “insisted on doing something bigger than their performance. He wanted a reveal.”
Jackson, who is not currently attached to the Left/Right TV film, has already been working on a documentary of her own. The multi-Grammy Award-winning artist has teamed up with Randy Jackson to executive produce “JANET,” which is slated to premiere on Lifetime and A&E in 2022. The project, which has been in the works since 2018, will debut over two nights, with each part clocking in at two hours, and touch on the infamous Super Bowl flub. The Jackson-led doc will “offer unprecedented access to the Rock and Roll Hall of Famer’s life, and an intimate, honest and unfiltered look at the untold story of one of the highest-earning artists in music history,” according to Variety.
As a result of the influx of conversation centering around Timberlake’s wrongdoings against Jackson and Spears, the artist issued an apology in February. “I’ve seen the messages, tags, comments, and concerns and I want to respond. 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,” reads the post. “I understand that I fell short in these moments and in many others and benefited from a system that condones misogyny and racism.”
“I specifically want to apologize to Britney Spears and Janet Jackson both individually, because I care for and respect these women and I know I failed. I also feel compelled to respond, in part, because everyone involved deserves better and most importantly because this is a larger conversation that I wholeheartedly want to be part of and grow from,” he continued.
Jackson has yet to comment on the Left/Right TV project.
