Timberlake blamed a “wardrobe malfunction,” but Federal Communications Commission chief Michael Powell called it “a classless, crass and deplorable stunt.”
MTV, which produced the show, and CBS, which broadcast it, both said they had no idea that their halftime show Sunday night would include such a display.
“CBS deeply regrets the incident,” spokeswoman LeslieAnne Wade said.
The two singers were performing a flirtatious duet to end the halftime show, with Timberlake singing, “Rock Your Body,” and the lines he sang at the moment of truth were: “I’m gonna have you naked by the end of this song.”
With that, Timberlake reached across Jackson’s leather gladiator outfit and pulled off the covering to her right breast, which was partially obscured by a sun-shaped, metal nipple decoration.
The network quickly cut away from the shot, and did not mention the exposure on the air.
In a statement, Powell said, “I am outraged at what I saw during the halftime show of the Super Bowl. Like millions of Americans, my family and I gathered around the television for a celebration. Instead, that celebration was tainted by a classless, crass and deplorable stunt. Our nation’s children, parents and citizens deserve better.”
