Our curiosities have ranked this event #1. That's right, #1 above the Sept.11 attacks on America. And it's #1 above the Paris Hilton videotape, and Britney Spears in general. This is what our searching on Lycos and Yahoo has done, and TiVo even says it's been the most watched moment in US TV history. I'm sure Janet Jackson was in pursuit of garnering more attention, and perhaps hoped to peak interest in her upcoming album. But things have definitely gotten out of hand.
The broadcasting network, CBS, faces a Federal Communications Commission investigation into whether the Super Bowl show violated decency laws, with potential fines of up to $27,5000. If each CBS station is found guilty, that could cost millions. Overall FCC top brass, Michael Powell found the halftime show to be lewd, with Nelly gesturing toward his crotch, and Kid Rock walking around draped in an American flag poncho.
It's definitely spiraling out of control, as even the National Football League (NFL) may have to return money to the show's sponsors such as AOL, which contributed a reported $7.5 million. Likewise, a Knoxville, Tennessee bank clerk, Terri Carlin, has filed a suit against Viacom International Inc., the owner of CBS and MTV, Jackson and Timberlake. The action alleges that the stars and the producers included "sexually explicit acts solely designed to garner publicity and, ultimately, to increase profits for themselves." An amount for damages has not been disclosed.
Since all of these events have taken place, Jackson has been shafted from the Grammys, and then reinvited with a less prominent role. Reports currently reveal that she won't attend. Timberlake remains invited, but may not be allowed to perform. Ms. Jackson, as suspected, has defenders at her back. Boycottthegrammys.com points to a hypocrisy in the corporations involved for not taking a role of responsibility. The National Association of Black Female Executives in Music & Entertainment have launched their own campaign, citing their dismay with the treatment of Jackson by the Grammys, adding that the move represents racism and sexism. Yet, while the NABFEME does not condone the artists' actions, they are concerned about fair treatment of Jackson by the Grammys.
CBS will take precautions with the Grammys on Feb. 8 and delay the broadcast by five minutes, should any editing be necessary. And still "nipplegate" is a national phenomenon, to the excess that www.miss_janet.com, Ms. Jackson's official fan club web site had to close due to the overwhelming surge in traffic.
Jackson and Timberlake have both apologized. She says her right breast wasn't supposed to be fully exposed. A red lace garment was to remain when Timberlake tore off the outer garment. Timberlake, MTV, and CBS all say they knew nothing of a potentially exposed breast, and Timberlake has blamed a wardrobe malfunction. Whatever the overall intentions were, both MTV and CBS must have known that Jackson and Timberlake would be bumping and grinding. They must have known what outfit she'd wear. It could even be argued that some commercials aired during halftime are unfit for family viewing or "indecent." But I suppose for the networks, that's neither here nor there.
As we continue to obsess about Janet Jackson and her right breast, giving her career a bigger boost than it has most likely experienced in a decade, I'm reminded of other times that urban artist's boobs have caught our attention. It wasn't all that long ago when Lil' Kim and J. Lo's breasts were on constant playback, and the talk of the nation. It was the 1999 MTV Music Awards when Lil' Kim joined Diana Ross and Mary J. Blige on stage, and Ross greeted Kim with a quick squeeze of her pastie-covered breast. Though MTV is a cable network not held to the same stringent standards as a television network, wasn't it at the family-friendly 2000 Grammys when Jennifer Lopez wore that translucent, plunging, green Versace gown, with her breasts begging to be exposed? Didn't she present an award at this event?
Perhaps these past faux pas in ta ta judgment is what's causing this high level of nipple envy right now, or at least all of the controversy. Then again, perhaps its something else. While both the Lil' Kim and J. Lo events garnered huge public interest in the artists and their careers, I think we're only seeing a peak in our fascination with the boob due to our current state of technological advances. Nowadays more of us have computers at home and at work than we did in 1999 and 2000. The same could be said about television playback devices such as TiVo. And of course, the Super Bowl had a high number of viewers; those watching more for the Beyonce opening and MTV produced halftime than the game itself. It's simply different times. But all in all, I just think we've all caught a little nipple envy and that in general we've got a national obsession with celebrities' flesh.
No matter how many times we've seen it and have talked about it, we always seem to want more. Even those of us who were outraged by the event. C'mon, think about it, there's something just a tad bit peculiar about our culture. Not only are we flesh obsessed, we kind of push our pop icons to the levels of baring it all. Granted they seek attention, but aren't they really just giving us what we want?
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