Over the weekend, Lifetime/A&E’s documentary Janet Jackson aired. It was done with Janet’s permission and participation, and she had a lot to say about her life and many of the conspiracies around her life and career. One of the biggest takeaways was that Janet wants people to finally forgive Justin Timberlake. In 2004, during the Super Bowl Halftime show, Justin pulled off part of Janet’s costume, revealing her breast on live TV. It was one of the biggest “scandals” to ever happen, especially with right-wing media screaming “what about the children” every hour for months on end. It was always going to be a sh-tshow, but it was absolutely made worse by the fact that Justin was very happy to throw all of the blame on Janet while he walked away unscathed. For 18 years, people still bring it up as one of the reasons why JT sucks. Well, during the documentary, Janet was trying to get people to give Justin a break:
Janet Jackson says she and Justin Timberlake are “very good friends” following their famous “wardrobe malfunction” during the Super Bowl halftime show in 2004.
“Honestly, this whole thing was blown way out of proportion,” the singer, 55, said of the incident during her Lifetime/A&E documentary. “And, of course, it was an accident that should not have happened, but everyone is looking for someone to blame and that’s gotta stop. Justin and I are very good friends and we will always be very good friends.”
Jackson added that she spoke with Timberlake, 40, “just a few days ago.”
“He and I have moved on and it’s time for everyone else to do the same,” she said.
Sources told Page Six that Jackson recorded the video about her friendship with Timberlake last week as a last minute addition to the tell-all doc. Timberlake previously apologized to Jackson in a lengthy post shared to Instagram last February amid backlash from the New York Times’ “Framing Britney Spears” doc.
I think both “sides” can be right – Janet and Justin buried the hatchet and they’re totally fine now AND everyone else can still hold a grudge against him. Justin really was an a–hole back then (I suspect that has not changed) to Janet and to Britney. As others have pointed out, while Justin could have and should have done more to help Janet, it should be clear by now that Les Moonves (then the president of CBS) went out of his way to destroy Janet’s career. Justin was a douche, but Moonves was a toxic, powerful misogynist who genuinely harmed Janet’s life and work. Anyway, people aren’t gonna forgive Justin just because Janet said they should.
Janet Jackson: I've forgiven Justin Timberlake! Please leave him alone!
Black Twitter: pic.twitter.com/BY7iWDPdXI
— Big Fupa, Lil' Spoon (@ThoughtsByJae) January 30, 2022
Waiting for Black Twitter to do it annual dragging of Justin Timberlake 🤣🤣#JanetJacksondoc pic.twitter.com/fp1ji5xmfr
— ~Alexandria~ “AstroPetty” (@DOPECHICKBEATS) January 29, 2022
Photos courtesy of Getty.
I reserve the right to dislike Justin. He is on my eternal sh*t list.
Oh me too…..This is just one of many reasons I dislike him
That first twitter response is far more eloquent than anything I could say. JT is a turd and has always been. Janet Jackson is far from the last time he has shown that. She can forgive him all she wishes but I will not support him in anything
Same for me. Ms. Jackson has always come across as a very, very forgiving person and her documentary underscored that. Many of the men she dealt with in her life really put her through it, but she was so gracious in talking about them. I would also imagine at this point in her life she just wants peace and to leave the past in the past, so from that angle I get it. But I will never have a nice thing to say about Timberfake.
I am glad Janet is at peace and has forgiven Justin, but my petty in dragging him is what gives me joy sooooo…..
Uggh just went to refresh myself on Les Moonves. What a jerk and creep! Cant believe Julie Chen is married to that guy.
And seemingly proud to be married to that POS, as her pointed introduction of herself on Big Brother shows. She was “Julie Chen” for more than a decade, then all the dirt about Les comes out in the open and now she’s “Julie Chen MOONVES” three nights a week on TV. Tells me she is a garbage person, too.
Well…good for her, but I don’t forgive him.
I was in a Women’s Studies course in college when this happened… it was called “Violence Against Women.” I used this incident as the basis of an essay… forgive JT or not… but the sight of a white man tearing the clothes off a black women is socially and culturally significant. I’ll never forget it… Women don’t get black eyes from doors and the only good thing about this whole thing (in my opinion) is that it started a conversation about violence…
Preach. I think he was so drunk performing that night and was so happy to be near his childhood crush(as he would so eloquently put it in old MTV interviews) that he ‘lost control,’ so to speak(PLEASE UNDERSTAND I AM NOT DEFENDING HIM). His actions are inexcusable. He violated Janet Jackson in full view of most of America and got away with it. Complete bull$&1@. Eff him and eff anybody that thinks what he did was ok. Janet is a good person for forgiving him but she shouldn’t dismiss what he did to her. It paves the way for men to get away with it in the future.
You realize the bra rip was choreographed right? Janet has stated this in several interviews. USAToday did an investigation on the incident and Janet had her costume tailored to be removable by Marcello Garzon and had him sign an NDA. Its not something sinister.
The black latex was supposed to give away to a red lace bra. To be tittilating that’s all. But Justin pulled so hard on it he pulled them both off. I assume due to the adrenaline. And they didn’t even rehearse it. It was just an idea and they never got clearance to do it. It was a bad idea badly executed during one of of the most conservative adminstrations at the time.
Bras do not just disappear in thin air. Where did the bra go if Justin “pulled too hard”? There was no bra on the floor, no bra on Janet’s body nor no bra in Justin’s hand. There was no red bra. The red lace trim you see is sewn into the black bustier.
Meh.. he’s still a ridiculous human being but she said that she told him that she was the one getting the heat and to not involve himself. Okay… I was wondering why this was on Lifetime with all those annoying commercials and after watching I realized that it was such a soft peddle, tell you nothing while it looks like I’m bearing my soul kind of watch.
Good on Janet, if it helps with the healing. While I do not hold a grudge, I have no interest in what Justin does. I am aware that it will be a poor imitation of the real thing, not unlike Taco Bell to real Mexican cuisine.
I enjoyed the documentary. I noticed that she didn’t mention her alleged fling with Bobby Brown or maybe she just wanted to discuss her serious relationships. In his book, he claims that they dated. I wonder if he will mention it in his upcoming Lifetime documentary.
Anyway, sorry Janet, no can do. I’m with Black Twitter on this one. Because of her insulated bubble, I don’t think she saw what the Black community saw. JT immersed himself in hip hop and Black culture to further his career. After he publicly disrespected her, he threw her to the wolves and played innocent. He still worked with Black music producers but returned to his white privilege and ignored the Black community. He repeatedly made negative statements in his lyrics about her. He also made some negative comments about Prince, then wanted to perform at a tribute for him. He faced public backlash for that as well and tried to walk his comments about Prince back. Too late!
She stated that at the time, she told JT to not say anything about the wardrobe malfunction. He of course did the opposite. Don’t get me started on how he tormented Britney for years! It was only after the public backlash he received for his recent SB appearance that he issued public apologies to Janet and Britney. She is far more classy than I am. I would have put Les Moonves and JT on blast. Especially Les Moonves for blacklisting her. Or maybe she’s sitting back enjoying the karma.
Bobby wrote about it in his book. He claims she cheated on Rene with him and she broke his heart. Thta he loved her more than any women even Whitney. Probably why they never mentioned it.
Oh my goodness my eight-year-old and I were discussing this just last week. I told her what happened and that a lot of people were upset that the woman was blamed for it. A little while later I spotted her going into a closet to be alone . I looked closely and she was crying. When I asked her, she said she was upset because of the way that people blamed only Janet Jackson in the situation. I don’t necessarily blame Justin Timberlake, more that society blamed the woman. Seeing my daughters reaction just brought the whole thing home again. We’ve come along way but not that far.
oh my heart breaks for your little girl. But maybe one day she will understand we were deep in the Bush adminstration and conservatives and white men were in charge. With the changes with metoo and BLM movements we have come a long way. And I hope she sees all the changes that women have an equal voice and are being heard and believed now. I wish nothing but hope for all of us.
I will say this: her message didn’t match the body language as she shook her head “no” as she said it. Lie detection 101! You can’t fool me, Ms. Jackson… I have been watching you my whole life! 😭😭😂