If you haven’t already heard, it’s been reported that Justin Timberlake will perform at the 2018 Superbowl Halftime show. The “Cry Me A River” star confirmed the news during a funny skit with Jimmy Fallon last Sunday (October 22). This will be the first time in 14 years since Timberlake has last performed on the halftime stage.
Back in 2004 the legendary Janet Jackson headlined the show and invited him to join the performance. While performing Timberlake’s hit song Rock Your Body, the singer pulled off a piece of Jackson’s ensemble during the lyric, “betta have you naked by the end of this song”, revealing her right nipple as 90 million people watched worldwide.
Ever since the announcement of the Justified singer’s return, he’s received lots of backlash on social media due to many feeling as though Jackson deserves an apology, spawning the hashtag #JusticeforJanet.
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For those of you who don’t know, this incident wasn’t easy for the Rhythm Nation singer. After the wardrobe malfunction, she received lots of backlash and was pressured to make a public apology about it. Jackson was then blacklisted by MTV, Vh1, and she was banned from attending the Grammy Awards that year. Jackson’s career was put on hold and her legacy was almost erased. Mainstream radio stopped playing her music on the airwaves and her music videos were taken out of rotation, all while Timberlake’s career thrived and he didn’t come to her defense.
Recently Janet came forward and said that she would be opened to making an appearance during his performance. Many rejoiced at the idea but some feel that it’s not necessary unless an apology is added on to the show. I couldn’t agree more. I am a huge Justin Timberlake and Janet Jackson fan and trust me I wouldn’t miss an opportunity to watch a live show from the both of them but I do feel like in this situation there is a double standard. Why was Janet the only one receiving backlash? Why didn’t Timberlake come to her defense knowing that it was mainly his fault that her breast was exposed? These questions may never get answered but we can all say that it is a racist and sexist issue because I’m sure if it was Usher and Madonna or Justin and Madonna the situation would have been dealt with differently.
In the end, this would be a great performance and it would make for another historical moment in pop culture but honestly, Ms. Jackson doesn’t need this, she’s already a living legend. They’ve already tried to dimish her legacy and it didn’t work.
Are you here for a Janet Jackson and Justin Timberlake part deux Superbowl performance? Let us know in the comments below.
