Singer Janet Jackson, 55, has clarified things about her infamous performance at the superbowl 2004 in collaboration with Justin Timberlake, 41 years old. A performance that caused a scandal in America.
Janet Jackson sent a message to her fans about her friendship with singer and actor Justin Timberlake, through the documentary dedicated to him. “Honestly, it was all over the top. And of course it was an accident that shouldn’t have happened, but everyone is looking for someone to blame and it has to stop.“ she said. “Justin and I are very good friends, and we always will be. (…) We spoke to each other just a few days ago. Him and I have moved on, and it’s time for everyone to do the same.” Indeed, the two artists lived an ambiguous agreement for years following their torrid performance of the halftime of the superbowl 2004. As a reminder, during the show, the singer had accidentally torn off Janet Jackson’s bustier, exposing the singer’s chest in front of 140 million spectators.
At that time, the careers of the two stars had taken a radically different turn. While Justin Timberlake saw his sales skyrocket, Janet Jackson saw herself blacklisted from the music industry, her music excluded from radio and TV broadcasts. A difference in treatment badly experienced by the singer. In the Janet Jackson documentary, the star is seen explaining to her brother Randy that Justin Timberlake had asked him whether or not he should speak out about the incident: “We spoke with Justin once and he said to me, I don’t know if I should come out and make a statement, I replied, look I don’t want any drama for you, they’re aiming everything at me, if I were you I wouldn’t say anything.“Yet in 2006, Janet confided her bitterness about this episode to Oprah Winfrey”all the light has been shed on me“, and when asked if she thought Justin Timberlake had let things go, she said, “that to a certain extent, yes.”
The singer has since taken to Instagram to apologize and acknowledge his past mistakes: “I understand that I failed in those times (…) I benefited from a system that tolerates misogyny and racism, he said before continuing, I specifically want to apologize to Britney Spears (for their ultra-publicized break-up) and Janet Jackson individually, because I care about these women and respect them.“