Everything Justin Timberlake Has Said About the 2004 Janet Jackson Super Bowl Controversy

Credit: Rhona Wise/EPA/Shutterstock

Everything Justin Timberlake Has Said About the 2004 Janet Jackson Super Bowl Controversy

Telling his side. Justin Timberlake has been somewhat vocal about his and Janet Jackson’s Super Bowl controversy through the years — but he didn’t publicly apologize to her until February 2021. The “Sexy Back” crooner turned heads in February 2004 when he grabbed Jackson’s leather top during the Super Bowl XXXVI halftime show, revealing her bare breast to millions of viewers. The “wardrobe malfunction” has since stirred a lot of controversy. While both Timberlake and Jackson issued statements apologizing to fans for the incident, the story has never fully been put to rest. In February 2021, the “Can’t Stop the Feeling” crooner apologized via an Instagram statement to both Jackson and Britney Spears for his alleged mistreatment of women in Hollywood over the years. His comments came after his past romance with the “Toxic” singer resurfaced as part of the New York Times Presents “Framing Britney Spears” documentary. At the time, Timberlake explained how he could have been a better ally to both Spears, whom he dated from 1999 to 2002, and Jackson, who took the majority of the heat after their Super Bowl fail. [jwplayer DM7y6lff-zhNYySv2] “The industry is flawed. It sets men, especially white men, up for success. It’s designed this way. As a man in a privileged position, I have to be vocal about this,” he wrote in a statement at the time, referencing Spears’ conservatorship battle and the overall treatment of women in music. “Because of my ignorance, I didn’t recognize it for all that it was while it was happening in my own life, but I do not want to ever benefit from others being pulled down again.” Timberlake vowed to change his behavior moving forward. “I have not been perfect in navigating all of this throughout my career. I know this apology is a first step and doesn’t absolve the past,” he added. “I want to take accountability for my own missteps in all of this as well as be part of a world that uplifts and supports. I care deeply about the wellbeing of the people I love and have loved. I can do better, and I will do better.” The apology seemingly brought even more attention to Timberlake and Jackson’s past as FX and Hulu announced a new episode of “Malfunction: The Dressing Down of Janet Jackson,” set to air in November 2021. “In 2004, a culture war was brewing when the Super Bowl halftime show audience saw a white man expose a Black woman’s breast for 9/16ths of a second. A national furor ensued. ‘If the culture wars could have a 9/11, it’s February 1st, 2004,’ said one observer,” the press release read for the documentary. “The woman was Janet Jackson, and her career was never the same. The man was Justin Timberlake; his stardom only grew. The New York Times examines the racial and cultural currents that collided on the Super Bowl stage, and explores how the incident impacted one of the most successful pop musicians in history.” Scroll down to relive all of Timberlake’s comments about the Super Bowl drama with Jackson over the years: [podcast_block]

Credit: Rhona Wise/EPA/Shutterstock

Everything Justin Timberlake Has Said About the 2004 Janet Jackson Super Bowl Controversy

Telling his side. Justin Timberlake has been somewhat vocal about his and Janet Jackson’s Super Bowl controversy through the years — but he didn’t publicly apologize to her until February 2021. The “Sexy Back” crooner turned heads in February 2004 when he grabbed Jackson’s leather top during the Super Bowl XXXVI halftime show, revealing her bare breast to millions of viewers. The “wardrobe malfunction” has since stirred a lot of controversy. While both Timberlake and Jackson issued statements apologizing to fans for the incident, the story has never fully been put to rest. In February 2021, the “Can’t Stop the Feeling” crooner apologized via an Instagram statement to both Jackson and Britney Spears for his alleged mistreatment of women in Hollywood over the years. His comments came after his past romance with the “Toxic” singer resurfaced as part of the New York Times Presents “Framing Britney Spears” documentary. At the time, Timberlake explained how he could have been a better ally to both Spears, whom he dated from 1999 to 2002, and Jackson, who took the majority of the heat after their Super Bowl fail. [jwplayer DM7y6lff-zhNYySv2] “The industry is flawed. It sets men, especially white men, up for success. It’s designed this way. As a man in a privileged position, I have to be vocal about this,” he wrote in a statement at the time, referencing Spears’ conservatorship battle and the overall treatment of women in music. “Because of my ignorance, I didn’t recognize it for all that it was while it was happening in my own life, but I do not want to ever benefit from others being pulled down again.” Timberlake vowed to change his behavior moving forward. “I have not been perfect in navigating all of this throughout my career. I know this apology is a first step and doesn’t absolve the past,” he added. “I want to take accountability for my own missteps in all of this as well as be part of a world that uplifts and supports. I care deeply about the wellbeing of the people I love and have loved. I can do better, and I will do better.” The apology seemingly brought even more attention to Timberlake and Jackson’s past as FX and Hulu announced a new episode of “Malfunction: The Dressing Down of Janet Jackson,” set to air in November 2021. “In 2004, a culture war was brewing when the Super Bowl halftime show audience saw a white man expose a Black woman’s breast for 9/16ths of a second. A national furor ensued. ‘If the culture wars could have a 9/11, it’s February 1st, 2004,’ said one observer,” the press release read for the documentary. “The woman was Janet Jackson, and her career was never the same. The man was Justin Timberlake; his stardom only grew. The New York Times examines the racial and cultural currents that collided on the Super Bowl stage, and explores how the incident impacted one of the most successful pop musicians in history.” Scroll down to relive all of Timberlake’s comments about the Super Bowl drama with Jackson over the years: [podcast_block]

Credit: Rhona Wise/EPA/Shutterstock

Wardrobe Malfunction

"I am sorry if anyone was offended by the wardrobe malfunction during the halftime performance at the Super Bowl," Timberlake said in a statement to MTV News in February 2004. "It was not intentional and is regrettable."

MTV, which put on the halftime show for its sister network CBS, also released a statement following the performance, stating, "The tearing of Janet Jackson's costume was unrehearsed, unplanned, completely unintentional and was inconsistent with assurances we had about the content of the performance. MTV regrets this incident occurred and we apologize to anyone who was offended by it."

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Frustrated By the Narrative

"I'm frustrated at the whole situation," the “Cry Me a River” singer said during a February 2004 appearance on KCBS radio per The Washington Post. "I'm frustrated that my character is being questioned and the fact of the matter is, you know, I've had a good year, a really good year, especially with my music."

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Grammy’s Speech

Timberlake won two Grammys in February 2004 for Pop Vocal Album and Male Pop Performance for his Justified album. During one of his acceptance speeches, he addressed the Super Bowl drama, saying, "I know it's been a rough week on everybody. What occurred was unintentional, completely regrettable, and I apologize if you guys are offended."

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Could’ve Handled It Better

The “Man of the Woods” musician spoke with MTV News in August 2006 about the incident, noting “you kind of have to have a sense of humor about all of this because, like you said, everybody takes this so seriously.”

He explained to reporter John Norris that the wardrobe malfunction is “not that serious,” pointing out that the “Middle East is the situation that [is] serious.” Timberlake went on to say that he could have handled things better in the aftermath of the performance.

"I'm a part of a community that considers themselves artists, and if there was something that I could have done in her defense that was more, that I could have realized, then I would have," the Tennessee native said. "But the other half of me thought to myself like, 'Wow, we still haven't found the weapons of mass destruction, and everybody cares about this.’”

Timberlake noted that Jackson got the brunt of the negative press following the awkward halftime show. "It's an understatement to say that it was sort of unfair if you consider it 50-50, I probably got 10 percent of the blame," he continued. "And that says something about society. I think that America's harsher on women, and I think that America's unfairly harsh on ethnic people."

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Made Peace

Ahead of his 2018 Super Bowl LII appearance, Timberlake sat down with Apple Music’s Beats 1 host Zane Lowe to discuss his previous halftime show debacle.

“Naturally, that’s something we talked about,” he explained in January 2018 of his game plan as to how to avoid another controversy. “To be honest, it wasn’t too much of a conversation. It’s just one of those things where you go, like, ‘Yeah, what do you want me to say? We’re not going to do that again!’”

The former ‘NSync singer recalled stumbling through his 2004 performance and how things got so out of whack. “I had my wires crossed, and it’s just something that you have to look back on and go, like, ‘OK, well, you know, you can’t change what’s happened, but you can move forward and learn from it,’” Timberlake said.

He also noted that he and Jackson had “absolutely” made peace after the uncomfortable show. “I don’t know that a lot of people know that,” he explained of their reconciliation. “I don’t think it’s my job to do that because you value the relationships that you do have with people.”

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Too Late To Apologize?

Timberlake came under fire in February 2021 after the "Framing Britney Spears" documentary brought back to life his split from the popstar while highlighting the need for her 13-year conservatorship to end. After seeing the messages directed at him and his treatment of women, including Spears and Jackson, over the years, the Palmer actor issued a public apology.

“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 wrote via Instagram at the time. “I understand that I fell short in these moments and in many others and benefited from a system that condones misogyny and racism.”

The former Mouseketeer then addressed the “Oops … I Did It Again” singer and the “Any Time, Any Place” musician directly. “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,” Timberlake continued. “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.”