Janet Jackson’s Super Bowl doc revisits wardrobe malfunction
“Malfunction: The Dressing Down of Janet Jackson,” a documentary that revisits the original “wardrobe malfunction” at the 2004 Super Bowl, is another installment in FX’s “The New York Times Presents” series, which this year brought us “Framing Britney Spears” and “Controlling Britney Spears.”
Jackson’s fans, foes, contemporaries and newbies are all likely to glean different things from “Malfunction,” which recently premiered. It seems impossible that its central event, the accidental baring of Jackson’s nipple for a brief, televised second in front of an audience of 150 million, happened only 14 years ago.
Here are some takeaways from the documentary, streaming on Hulu.
Who’s going to get the most from ‘Malfunction’?:
Put your money on Gen Z viewers and millennials born after 1990: People who didn’t real-time witness little Janet performing with her famous singing family and acting on television and weren’t cognizant of the 2004 Super Bowl.
If 2004 sounds like ancient days, this documentary might be valuable, both for the scandal part and the part where it revisits the national moral angst preceding it.
Everyone was worried about the rappers:
Diddy, Nelly and Kid Rock also participated in that year’s halftime show, and a wary CBS network and NFL were worried that they would offend a relatively square and patriotic football audience by cussing, grabbing their crotches or messing with the American flag. Lyrics were reviewed and choreography was checked.
The producer from MTV went through the show step by step with a standards-and-practices person from the network. As far as the production team knew, everything was locked down. The “shocking moment” that had been promised was Justin Timberlake’s appearance as a surprise guest.
A small group brainstormed the move that backfired:
There was only one night of rehearsal on the field, that Thursday, during which the decision was made to cut a move where Timberlake ripped away Jackson’s skirt to reveal a jumpsuit. What nobody knew was that a small group — most likely Timberlake, Jackson and her choreographer and stylist — got together and worked out a replacement move. And voila, “nipple gate” was born.
Timberlake and Jackson were treated differently:
Is this a surprise? Not really, just a fact. What is surprising is watching the post-gaffe treatment of
Timberlake and Jackson contrasted as it played out across the media. Timberlake spoke out right away, apologized at the Grammys the next week, told CBS honcho Les Moonves in person that he was sorry, and went on his way. He got to laugh it off, telling reporters things like, “We love giving y’all something to talk about.”
Meanwhile, a mortified Jackson went incommunicado right after the performance. Her first apology didn’t come until the next day. She didn’t attend the Grammys the next week and refused to apologize in person to Moonves for what she considered an accident.
At 37, she was called “almost geriatric” by CNN. When she appeared on David Letterman’s show, he made fun of her breasts.
Jackson made the original apology video:
Watching the singer’s plaintive apology video in the documentary, the blueprint she lays is clear: It’s the one followed by Morgan Wallen, Travis Scott and every celebrity in between who’s been caught in a bad situation. She was contrite and let her corporate cohorts off the hook.
Timberlake, meanwhile, coined the phrase “wardrobe malfunction” in his initial statement right after the football game, never knowing how ubiquitous it would prove in the years to come.
There’s a clear view of the offending moment:
It may be tacky, but anyone who wants to see exactly what people were freaking out about back in the day will get the opportunity during this documentary. Again, it’s only for a moment, but it’s much easier to see in “Malfunction” than it was on Super Bowl Sunday in 2004.