It’s been four years since Janet Jackson shocked—shocked!—our genteel country with her infamous nip-slip at the 2004 Superbowl, prompting the FCC to slap CBS with a $550,000 penalty that sent the major networks into a puritanical tizzy. Thankfully time has given us all a little perspective on the incident, and a federal court yesterday threw out the fine, saying that the FCC had acted "arbitrarily and capriciously" (translation: stoopid) in its response. The decision is another setback for the FCC in its crusade against indecency, setting the stage for more debate about how tough the agency ought to be against stations that air accidental nudity or expletives. I tend to fall into the “It’s Just a Boob” camp, and would even argue that the only real and lasting damage from the whole debacle was the introduction of the term “wardrobe malfunction” to the pop lexicon. But what do you think, PopWatchers? Was anyone really harmed by a fleeting glimpse of Miss Jackson’s oddly accessorized bosom? And hasn’t her nose-diving career been punishment enough for us all?
Was a federal court right to toss the fine over Janet Jackson's wardrobe malfunction?
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Comments (1-30) of 58 Add your comment
Tossing the fine was the absolute right thing to do. I agree that it was “just a boob” and it happend so darn fast that most people watching it live had no idea what had even happened.
What does alarm me is the amount of cursing on network TV. As a parent of elementary-school aged kids, I don’t agree with many of the words that are allowed (even though I use them myself in adult company). And there tends to be so much “bleeping” on TV. When I noticed my 9-year-old can read lips despite the bleeps in Hell’s Kitchen, well there was another fun show I thought the family could watch together.
Good decision. The sort of person who could genuinely suffer distress / moral outrage / psychological damage at the fleeting glimpse of a breast is, I suspect, pretty seriously damaged to begin with.
What worries me more is how everyone continues to blame the incident on Jackson. It takes two (in this case) to rip a top off.
I’m in the just a boob camp as well, but what I really wanted was for MTV to get slapped (I think they’re the ones who put all that together). While not a parent, I do think that the persistant nature of that channel and other “Entertainment” productions to get more and more Girls Gone Wild, Paris Hilton, etc. over real substance is just not acceptable. It should have been about the entertainment and music, not about shock value, “suprise, here’s a boob!” It’s just a boob, but quit trying to up the ante that it’s now all about the boobs (The Hills, Real World, etc.)
Personally I’ve never understood why nudity is supposed to be horrifying, but if some people find it so then I suppose the public media needs to control it. However there are slip ups in any endeavor and people don’t go off the deep end over it unless it is related to sex. That just seems to drive some types inasane(er.)
Err, you didn’t just see a nipple slip – what you saw was a man tearing a piece if clothing off a woman’s breast.
That’s OK for you???????
One of the major problems with this country is somewhere along the way we’ve merged freedom with the idea that we have a right to not be offended. This “right”, which is most assuredly NOT a right but a preference, is of course an impossible attainment as everyone has opinions. As such, we’ve resulted in reducing our public interactions to the lowest common denominator that wouldn’t “offend” someone, culminating in public discussions about nothing that could be construed as useful, and our public’s obsession with the meaningless. It is without doubt a tyranny of the majority by the Politically correct pundits.
It is if for no other reason, complete and utter bullshit.
In these times of economic and political failure, it is most comforting to know that the Federal courts still have a solid head on their shoulders.
It happenned so fast I dont believe anyone was shocked,I wa s watching and did not see any skin, So I do not see what the big hallabaloo is for something that was only visibkle for a fraction of a second..
I agree, it was just a boob. It happened so fast that I really wasn’t sure what I saw. But, the media made sure we all knew for sure by the next day what we had witnessed. But, if it was an accident, why was she already wearing a nipple ornament? How many guys clicked the link to this story because they wanted another peek at a breast? Come on, it was just a boob.
The fallout from that entire debacle made me so angry. I’m definitely in the “It’s just a boob” camp as well, because, well it’s just a boob. The problem were the few people complaining actually drew so much more attention to it by shrieking and howling about the purity of their children watching. For weeks, you couldn’t escape coverage of it. And while it was so offensive, it’s apparently perfectly fine to air it on broadcast television in the middle of the day as long as there is a black bar over the boob. So my 5-year-old niece who missed the originally airing only to started to ask questions when she saw the event on covers of magazines and on the news in the following months.
I think both of them deserve an apology from the trigger-happy FCC, and then they can pay closer to those OMFG ads for Gossip Girl, which I find d much more sexually suggestive, especially given their target demographic.
Great decision! Our America has become the only country where saying that you are “male” or “female” might earn you 10 year jail terms because those words suggest that you have some sexual appendage. Funny how artificial we have degenerated. In our America, everyday expression and curses have sexual connotations, sexualism defines our dressing, our quests, our essence; however, we do not want it on TV. Talk about hypocrisy? Maybe a ray of light if the courts would keep telling us how to accept that we are just what we are – humans, not robots!
Oh fer cryin out loud…it was a boob. I have to look at my own everytime I get out of the shower and I don’t fine myself! Get over it.
IM AM GLAD THEY THREW IT OUT BECAUSE MOST OF THE PARENTS WHO WAS WATCHING THE SUPERBOWL WAS VERY DRUNK IN FRONT OF THEIR CHILDREN, AND I GUESS THATS IS OK. JANET JACKSON IS A LEGEND WHO WROTE ABOUT BIGOTRY, KNOWLEDGE, RACISM, EDUCATION AND I WAS A COLLEGE DROP OUT AFTER LISTENING TO THIS ALBUM I RETURNED TO COLLEGE AND TODAY I AM WORKING ON MY PHD BECAUSE OF JANET JACKSON, SHE REALLY TOUCHED MY LIFE NO OTHER ARTIST HAS WRITTEN ABOUT LIFE SITUATIONS THAT CAN REALLY REACH YOUR HEART THE WAY THAT JANET DID ON HER RHYTHM NATION ALBUM. SHE IS AN ICON AND LEGEND. I TRUELY LOVE HER FOR HELPING ME TO GO BACK TO COLLEGE.
As long as we have to explain to children what Cialis, Viagra, erectile disfunction, genital herpes, trojans, and KY Intrigue are, (all of these commercials air during those events which kids may be watching) then What Is The Point of getting all upset over a split second of boob???
IT WAS AN ACCIDENT! ARE PEOPLE FREAKIN KIDDIN ME? just two days after this incident, I saw a very popular tv show that when it came on, a woman was lying on her stomach while some man was behind her make grunt noises. Yes it was supposed to be a man giving the woman anal sex. ON THE SAME CHANEL. But no-one said anything about that! And why is it,’the janet jackson wardrobe malfunction.’ If fingers are going to be pointed, how come no one’s saying anything about Justin- HE PULLED THE DARNED THING OFF! Not to mention why aren’t these people who are complaining saying anything about the crap thats on tv nowadays? TV has gotten way worst than accidental boob flash from many shows and no one is saying anything about that.
yes. the best decision ever. finally, we can hopefully put “nipplegate 04″ to end!
IT IS BECAUSE SHE WAS A BLACK FEMALE, THIS IS WHY IT WAS TAKEN OUT OF CONTEXT. JUSTIN TIMBERPUNK NEVER RECEIVED ANY CRITISM ABOUT THE SITUATION IT WAS ALL ON JANET JACKSON. MADONNA KISSED BRITNEY SPEARS IN FRONT OF MILLION OF CHILDREN ON THE AWARDS SHOW I DID NOT SEE THE FCC TRYING TO SUE THAT STATION ABOUT IT, PARENTS DID NOT MAKE A FUSS ABOUT IT. AMERICA NEEDS TO WAKE UP, ALL THIS RACISM NEEDS TO GO. IF JANET JACKSON HAD BEEN CELINE DION AND SHOWED HER BREAST THE MEDIA WOULD HAVE BEEN TRYING TO SWEEP IT UNDER THE CARPET. PEOPLE IT IS BECAUSE JANET JACKSON IS A BLACK, STRONG, FEMALE, THAT IS WHY THEY TRIED TO BRING HER DOWN AND SHE IS A JACKSON, MICHAEL’S SISTER!!!
her boob was nasty and that is why the fine should stay.
“CONCERNED CITIZEN”, U TELLING A DAMN LIE, U DID NOT EVEN SEE HER BREAST THAT CLOSELY, YOU MUST BE ONE OF THOSE DRUNK PARENTS. GET OVER IT BECAUSE IT HAS BEEN THROWN OUT, I BET YOUR BREAST LOOKS LIKE A FIVE DAY OLD DEAD BODY!!!
Why on Earth do we still get upset about seeing women’s breasts, period? Is it just me, or does forbidding women to go topless in public violate the fourteenth amendment, which guarantees equal protection under the law?
Men are allowed by law to be topless in public, on network television, etc. Yet women aren’t. Clearly a violation of equal protection laws.
And to those who would say that women can’t show their breasts because they’re a sexual organ, I say bunk. Breasts are no more a sexual organ than one’s ears, feet and other erogenous zones. Reproductive organs are the only thing that both genders are required to keep covered. Breasts aren’t reproductive organs. They’re supportive organs for an already-produced offspring. But then, so are arms, laps and car seats.
Let’s ban those from being shown in public and on broadcast networks, too, why don’t we?
LJ Rhodes, you rock.
To L.J. Rhodes – I couldn’t agree with you more. While I’m not sure I’d go topless in public, I’d sure like the option! It gets mightly hot in Texas in the summer.
hey. nipples, we ALL have them. even the fools at the FCC. i can’t believe people are still making an issue out of this.
What I saw was Timberlake ‘rip’ Jackson’s clothes…and SHE was blamed?? Not one word against him! What hypocracy! Thank goodness they came to their senses and tossed out the fine.
I cannot believe after all these years – that the FCC is fining the network !!! COME ON PEOPLE – it was ONLY A BOOB – for gawd sakes !!!! People BE MORE concerned about HOW the STAR athletes ARE affecting YOUR KIDS !!!!! WHY would you want them to be your kids role models ???
I watched the show – and you were NOT able to see that much anyway – but come on – its A BOOB !!!! NOTHING to be ashamed of…
I am a Grandmother of 5 – and DID NOT THINK a thing of it …. IF your kids have been tramatized over this – ITS ON YOU !!!!!!! IS anyone jealous about Janet’s boob ??? Cause she is GORGEOUS !!! GET ON WITH YOUR LIFE PEOPLE !!!
We spent $458 million dollars setting up trauma centers for the children that suffered from this outrage. Breasts should be kept away from all children by ANY means. Queen Victoria is just rolling in that oversized coffin.
Racism had nothing to do with it
RACISM HAD EVERY 9TH SPLIT OF THE SECOND TO DO WITH IT. SHE RECEIVED ALL OF THIS DAMAGE BECAUSE OF THE COLOR OF HER SKIN, I DON’T CARE WHAT YOU SAY, THE DEVIL IS A LIAR, IT IS BECAUSE JANET JACKSON IS BLACK!!!
The argument the court made was interesting. They basically said that the FCC for years would have considered the act “fleeting” and would not have fined the network for it. Soon after, the FCC’s rules changed but those rules were not in effect at the time of the Superbowl. As a result the court said it was arbitrary and capricious to fine the network. Incidently, the reason the rules were changed about a month after the Superbowl was actually a result of Bono using the F-word on the Golden Globes. The court did not say that this new rule was wrong which means that if Nipplegate had taken place in April 2004, the fine might stand. The only complicating factor is that Jackson and Timberlake were deemed “indendent contractors” so who knows if CBS would have been deemed liable.
RACISM HAD EVERY 9TH SPLIT OF A SECOND TO DO WITH IT. I DON’T CARE WHAT YOU SAY. THE DEVIL IS A LIAR, IT WAS BECAUSE OF THE COLOR OF HER SKIN.
Much ado about nothing. Although in related news guess the woman who was suing for being traumatized by the whole non-affair is SOL.
Yes yes Leroy “everyone” is out to get Janet because she’s black. Now do us all a favour and lay off the rock, mmmkay?