Justin Timberlake to headline 2018 Super Bowl halftime show

Justin Timberlake will return to the Super Bowl halftime show next year, the NFL has announced, 14 years after one of the pop star’s most notorious live performances on that same stage. Blame it on that “wardrobe malfunction.”

Timberlake and his performance partner, Janet Jackson shocked an estimated 140 million people with an incident that became known as “Nipplegate.”

At the conclusion of their well-choreographed 2004 performance of Timberlake’s Rock Your Body, the singer reached over to Jackson and tore off a section of her clothing. The resulting uproar resulted in an FCC fine — later rescinded — and a statement from Timberlake that coined a new term: “I am sorry if anyone was offended by the wardrobe malfunction during the halftime performance at the Super Bowl,” he said. “It was not intentional and is regrettable.” The incident helped propel Timberlake to even greater fame, while simultaneously damaging Jackson’s career.

Asked by NBC Sports analyst Mike Tirico whether the malfunction was discussed during negotiations, Timberlake responded with a grin and a stutter. “That … that … that won’t happen this time,” he said.