All language subtitles for Rise and Fall of Janet Jackson

When you're in the middle of a hurricane,

you don't really know how you feel.

But we started feeling
indescribably bad for Janet.

And the reaction that was starting
to coalesce against her.

A classless, crass
and deplorable stunt.

Meanwhile, many are asking

what happened to the line
that shouldn't be crossed?

Janet Jackson says
it was all her fault.

Her flash dance.
Just say, "I'm a trollop."

If the culture wars could have
a 9/11, it's February 1st, 2004.

89 million viewers watched.

Janet Jackson's
R-rated Super Bowl stunt.

The exposure of
Janet Jackson's breast...

Janet Jackson...
Janet Jackson...

Looking into television and the
large amounts of sex and violence

is an old political trick,

and there's always a bit
of demagoguery involved.

There was no equality of punishment.

I am really sorry.

She is taking the complete fall
for this.

It's a Black thing.

I'm sure you guys are sick
of hearing about it.

I know I am.
Let's...ask me about something else.

I'm not so sure they are
sick of hearing about it.

To see it on that scale
happening to someone like Janet,

it didn't just happen to her,
it rippled and touched all of us.

I still don't understand
how hard they came for Janet.

Ladies and gentlemen, I'd like
to introduce Janet Jackson.

How you doing?

If you're a Jackson, you know,
you're born onstage.

Hey, Janet.

Is this your first...it isn't
your first time on television?

Yes.

Do you ever watch me
when you're home?

Yes.
Aren't you nice?

Janet was not a shy person.

Are you ready to sing
your big number with Randy?

Yes.
Oh, I can't wait.

She would come out and do
her little number with Randy.

Take it away, Janet!

And she did little Mae West,

throwing her hips and,
"Come here, lover boy."

Come on, call your lover boy.

I say.

Come here, lover boy.

You were watching your
older siblings do what they do.

Janet, congratulations.
That was terrific.

You can't help but join in, I guess.

Janet joined the
'Good Times' series.

Hi.

We just remember seeing her and
rushing home, can't miss an episode.

I'm sorry, Mama, I won't
do it again, I promise.

I think that people forget that

there just were not that many Black
people on television and, for me,

as a little girl growing up
in the 1970s and 1980s,

seeing her as Penny on 'Good Times',

then seeing her on
'Different Strokes'

as Willis's girlfriend, then seeing
her on 'Fame', like, come on.

She was a mirror of me.

Man, she was going through what
I was going through on television,

and there was almost no place else
to look.

I'm Cathy Hughes.

I'm the founder and chairperson
of Urban One Inc,

the largest Black-owned
media company in the country.

The pressure that was on her
had to be very significant.

White executives

always, always start
from the premise

of what is acceptable
to their white audience,

and, because we have been
brainwashed that white is beautiful,

you have a pressure that does not
exist for a white female artist.

There is a double-triple standard

that she had to live up to
at a very impressionable age.

In 1984, I got the chance
to interview Janet Jackson.

She was just starting out, and she
was known for sitcoms at this point.

She actually said to me, quote,
"I wouldn't mind

"doing a video with Michael if they
have any parts for chubby girls."

When you were on 'Good Times',

there were people telling you,

constantly talking about
your body image.

I remember I was getting dressed
for the very, very first episode.

The wardrobe lady,
while she was dressing me,

she says, "I have to put bandages
around your chest."

I immediately thought
as I am isn't good enough.

And then it was told to me

the next season I was too heavy,
that I needed to lose weight.

Donkey. Donk, sometimes, for short.

That's my nickname that my
family...one of my nicknames, Donk.

Where does Donk come from?

You really want to know?
Yeah.

From a donkey.

Well, see, now,
seeing we're done with it, yeah.

My body's shaped like a donkey.

You've got a body
shaped like a donkey?

Yeah, I got teased a lot as a kid.

I got called a lot of names.

Including Donk?

Donk, pig, cow,
slaughter hog, horse.

Ooh, that had to be a lot of laughs.

Laughs for somebody.

During those early days, Janet
was a little girl on television,

but Joe was preparing everyone for
her entre into the music industry

and being on television
gave her a world of exposure

that her brothers and sisters
weren't experiencing.

Having already established herself
as a very gifted actress,

her name is Janet Jackson.

# I may be young
but I'm not foolish. #

She's just released an album.

Here's Janet Jackson.

My, you're a pretty young lady.
Gee, thanks.

Your eyes, are that
your best feature, do you think?

I don't know.

There were two albums
in 1982 and '84,

one called 'Janet Jackson',
the other called 'Dream Street',

and you can think
of these two albums

as the Joe Jackson
patriarch albums.

Marlon produced the song
'You Don't Stand',

and another song,
'All My Love to You'.

And all my brothers sing background
on 'You Don't Stand'.

She is following the business model
that has worked for the Jacksons,

lo, this last decade, decade and
a half, and none of it really works.

My father managed me ever since
I was seven years old,

ever since I started
in this business.

La Toya and Michael
speak quite harshly

about your father's control and talk
of one kind of violence or another.

Was he rough on you?
No.

Being African-American,
we always use the word 'beat'

but it's not...it's getting
a spanking is what it really is.

Did it go too far, though?

With my father?

No, not that I know of, not at all.

It was never something
that we didn't deserve.

At the point that I met her,
she was ready to bust out.

She was transitioning from
a shy little girl into womanhood...

..who wanted to take control, she
wanted to be the CEO of her life.

When I was about 14, I signed
my first recording contract.

Yeah, 14.

Everything was given to me,
handed to me.

"Here, sing this, do this."
And I hated it.

I said no more.

I refused to do that ever again.

At that point, fired her father.

A&M realised that that happened,
and offered her a contract.

That move was an incredible move.

Either she was gonna be in control
or he was gonna be in control.

I've decided to take control
of my life.

I remember listening to the
'Control' album for the first time.

I said, man, this thing
is incredible.

It's gonna be a blockbuster
home-run album.

It's Janet

She's in complete control.

Her album is still in the top ten.

It was very easy for those of us
in Black radio.

We already loved her.
We wanted her to win.

Everybody out there,
let me present Janet Jackson!

To be a Black woman who crossed
from R&B to pop and back...

Janet Jackson, 'Control'.

..you really have
to find a new mode.

She's really finding her own lane
and coming up with

a new definition of what a Black
female pop star sounded like.

Five, four, three, two, one.

Like, if we thought 'Control'
was the shit,

'Rhythm Nation' was, like,
oh, my god, this is amazing!

'Rhythm Nation 1814'

is effectively Janet's
'What's Going On'.

She's inspired to do a message album.

As a Black woman listenin',

it was just an immediate anthem of strength.

She dealt with issues, she dealt
with equality, she empowered women

and she was all too ripe for
the conservatives to pounce.

Three, two...

Where do you draw the line between,
you know, good taste and vulgarity?

Yeah, that line between class and
being crass, being classy and...

It's a...

You have to be very careful.

I remember my parents being concerned

about what messages I was getting
from pop music at the time.

Even though Janet was going farther,
it wasn't just a free-for-all.

'Janet' is the album that I reviewed
for 'Rolling Stone' that was, like,

I got it in terms of, like,
who she is as a person

and her development as a woman now,

saying, like,
"I am full, I am sexual."

The person who had been,
like, let's wait a while

was now talking about
anytime, anyplace.

There's this side of me
that's always been there

but I've never shared it with the
public before and it's finally time.

But, to some people,
it might be shocking, I guess.

It definitely would be, especially
growing up in this business,

saying, "Oh, my god, she's not
a baby anymore, she's a woman."

She has a sex life.

Yeah. My gracious.
Yeah.

Can I tell you something?

If I looked like this naked,
I would be naked right now.

The 'Rolling Stone' cover is iconic.

It was everywhere.

She looked so confident.

The hands behind the head.

Yes, we're getting Janet.
Yes, it's racy.

But these are intimate hands.

That's her man.

She is unabashed

about being an object of desire
in a way that she hadn't before.

Janet drops this album into the
midst of the '90s culture wars.

We must take back our culture
and take back our country.

You see the political right
starting to push back

and say, like, "Whoa,
the country's getting too sexual.

"We are not comfortable
with Ellen..."

I'm gay.
.."coming out.

"Nn-nn, no. Get back in the closet.
We don't like this."

You had the moral majority,
you had the religious right,

even conservative Democrats,

the Tipper Gores of the world
who'd be emerging.

Placing a warning label on
music products inappropriate

for younger children due to
explicit sexual or violent lyrics.

We had all of these movements
saying America had lost its values,

America was going to hell and we
needed stronger conservative values.

Jesus died on the cross for you!

That was really designed
at policing sexuality,

attacking art, trying to
destroy multiculturalism.

I feel that there is an
undercurrent of racism,

and that the system
is rotten to the core.

The Republican party is complaining

about the values that are
being shared in pop culture.

It doesn't help matters
when prime-time TV

has Murphy Brown mocking
the importance of fathers.

When you look at the '90s,
the guardrails were flying off.

Television had such a dominant
position on raising people,

on raising our children
and impressionable minds.

I clearly believed that
we needed to do something

about the kind of culture and the
kind of climate we had in America.

There were three specific areas
of concern. One was language.

Get the hell out of my kitchen!

One was violence.

And one was sexuality.

Good evening, ladies and gentlemen.

My name is Tim Winter,

and I'm president of the
Parents Television Council.

The PTC's mission
is to protect children

from the graphic sex,
violence and profanity

that is so pervasive in
our entertainment media.

Our concern was that all these
instances of isolated profanity,

isolated sexually explicit material
that was appearing

on broadcast radio and television
was gonna become the norm.

Children today are being bombarded
by intensely violent images

in the movies they watch and in
the video games that they play.

Brent Bozell, the founder,
had strong allies on Capitol Hill.

And, at this point, I will turn
it over to Senator Brownback...

He knew which members of Congress
were concerned about coarsening

of the media culture, especially
as it related to children.

Thank you, Brent,
and Parents Television Council,

for putting forward another report.

There was certainly
no qualm in my mind

that we needed to, in broadcast
television, put in limits.

We had a meeting at the FTC
with then-chairman Michael Powell.

There was a growing concern
at our end

about the lack of enforcement
by the FCC

of a law that Congress had
instructed them to enforce.

We had filed numerous complaints
and the public had, as well,

going back to things like
the Bono F-bomb

at the Golden Globe Awards on NBC.

That's really, really
fucking brilliant.

The naked rear end on 'NYPD Blue'.

Howard Stern, his radio broadcast.

I'm a very bad girl.
Alright, here we go.

And, at that time, Chairman Powell

said that there were
no public complaints.

And Brent literally brought out
thousands of petitions

that had been filed by
members of the public

about broadcast indecency.

What show is number one
on your hit list?

I would look at two networks
on cable, the FX network and MTV.

FX because it's got the
raunchiest programming.

MTV because it's aimed at children.

How does your organisation
define indecency?

What's indecent?

Well, you know, it's like

Justice Potter Stewart
said about pornography.

You know when you see it.

Janet is walking in
the middle of that.

Because she's tasteful.

She's talking about
her sexual awakening.

She's never putting it in your face.

That's not what she
was talking about.

You have said, and I thought
that this was so honest,

you said, "All I did
was do what I always do.

"I write about what's going on
in my life.

"I'm being honest
about my own sexuality."

Yeah, I do.

The album has been banned
in a few places because of...

Is that good?

I'm not gonna change it.
It's me. It's who I am.

I think it's beautiful
to express that.

There's this catch-22
in terms of how women artists

and women of colour, in particular,
gain control of their own image.

You're either too sexual.

The other side of that
is, if you own that,

now you open up the floodgates
that, well,

if she didn't want to be sexualised,

then why did she create this image
for herself to begin with?

Is your nipple pierced?
Yes.

OK. I just want to know
why you pierce your nipple.

For one, you get
this great sensation.

Hello!

I think Janet Jackson
opened Pandora's box

to what we're seeing now for
being the first who blatantly said,

"I like who I am.
I like how I look."

It's really, really tough,
it really is.

I mean, am I supposed
to go my entire career

and not talk about
what I feel inside?

It's gettin' kinda lonely up here.

Our culture doesn't know what
to do with independent women,

and definitely not
independent Black women,

and forget about an independent
Black woman who makes her own money,

who knows who she is,

and is apparently a completely
sexually liberated person,

and, when there is an opportunity
to punish her for it, they did.

So, in the '90s, MTV is the biggest
radio station in the country.

They are really a dominating entity
within culture.

They are really shaping culture.

Hi, MTV.

The 1990 Video Vanguard award...

And the very deserving winner is...

Janet Jackson.
Janet Jackson.

If you could get 40 spins a week on
MTV, you could become a big star.

My guest today is one of

the most beautiful and talented
artists in the music world.

She continues to set the mark

which other pop stars
are simply measured by.

We're delighted to have her.

Please welcome Janet Jackson.
Let's get her out.

It's great to have you here.

Can we just, for a second,
walk over to the window

and say hi to New York because
these people are gonna go nuts here.

They've been standing out here
for an abnormal amount of time,

since last week, actually.

We understood live television.

We understood how to
entertain the audience.

The lady with the sexiest
bellybutton I've ever seen,

Janet Jackson.

Janet had become one of the
biggest stars in the world.

Her tours were among the
biggest events in entertainment.

And to be given
an opening an opening spot

for her Velvet Rope tour
was an enormous platform.

It put you in front of millions and
millions of people around the world.

And one of the acts that she
reached out to from that tour

was a young boy band called NSYNC.

Alright, well, let's talk about
this Janet Jackson thing.

Ooh!
Oh, yeah.

Let me tell you how excited I am.

This is Justin.

I just want to say I've been a big
fan of Janet for a long, long time.

I watched Janet Jackson's
'Rhythm Nation 1814' video,

like, a hundred gazillion times.

It says "To Justin".

Oh, I love this one.

Aw...
Justin, aw.

When things were just starting out
for NSYNC,

Janet took us with her
on the Velvet Rope tour,

and taught us what being
professional's all about.

Yeah, like how to be fine.

And then, in 2001,
MTV gives Janet the Icon Award.

We love Janet for a whole lot
of reasons.

Yeah, like, she's fine.

The night that they are presenting
the Icon Award to her,

all Justin Timberlake can comment on
while his bandmate

is extolling her many skills
and talents is how hot she is.

You know our favourite Janet Jackson
video is 'That's the Way Love Goes'

because that video had the coolest,
most laidback groove...

Yeah, she's fine in the video, too.

Fine.

MTV was a place where partners
would come to us for our audience.

In 2001, when CBS and MTV merged
under the umbrella of Viacom,

there was a lot of discussion about
putting these two brands together.

The NFL started to,
sort of, take notice.

CBS had the Super Bowl in 2001
where they were, like,

"Hey, we should work together
to create a spectacle," and we did.

We diversified the halftime
like no-one ever really had.

Everyone was really proud of it.
Everyone was very pleased.

So, in 2004, when CBS
once again had the Super Bowl,

the discussions began about
MTV doing the halftime again.

Now, MTV had a reputation
of being bad-ass,

of being subversive,
of pushing boundaries.

They had just given us
Madonna kissing Britney Spears

at the front of their awards show.

We knew that MTV

was likely to bring along the
potential for risky, racy content.

We were very mindful
and very concerned about

the family-friendly nature,
or lack thereof,

of that show because
of MTV producing it.

The NFL was very conscious of, like,
who they were gonna put on display.

They want these gigantic stars that
will appeal to multiple generations,

that will appeal to red states
and blue states.

Very few artists can actually
sort of fit that bill,

so the shortlist of talent that
we sort of internally had vetted

went up the flagpole to the NFL.

We finally all agreed on Janet,

and we were very excited
when she said yes.

Stay tuned...

..for the Supercharged AOL
Top Speed Halftime Extravaganza.

See ya at halftime.

Alright, guys, here we go.

And playback is rolling.

By 2004, Janet had been off
the radar for a couple of years

when she was, in fact,
about to release a new album.

There's a little bit of,
if I may quote one of her own songs,

"What have you done for us lately?"

I was chairman and CEO of
Virgin Records at the time,

had recently met Janet
and started working with her

on the 'Damita Jo' album.

We worked for over a year on
getting ready to release the album,

and we were super excited that Janet
was performing at the Super Bowl.

The Super Bowl Halftime Show

is the biggest moment of the year
for eyeballs on music,

and that album should
see a really big bump

as a result of that performance.

This is a gigantic deal.

For her to be able to say,

"I'm still Super Bowl level,"
is a huge stamp of approval.

When it came to 2004,

I mean, we felt very confident
in dealing with MTV.

Now, when we got to the point

of trying to select
where the talent was

and what was going to take place,

they had changed a little bit from
where they were three years prior.

Music had changed dramatically over
that course of three years, also.

Be sure to catch the AOL Top Speed
Super Bowl Halftime Show

produced by MTV.

You've got Janet Jackson, Kid Rock,
P Diddy and Nelly is gonna be there,

so make sure you tune in for that.

Think of all the issues
we had potentially

concerning the talent
for that halftime show.

Janet Jackson was probably
the least concern that we had.

They're a fun group of guys
and it's nice to be the only girl.

There was concern with P Diddy,

there was concern with Nelly,
there was concern with Kid Rock,

which some elements in the NFL
thought that maybe

that was going a little bit too far
from where we wanted to be.

And I realised that they
were misogynistic lyrics

that were offensive to people.

Misogyny in lyrics and rap music
is a complicated subject.

I think, for the NFL,
the one thing that you always hear

is protecting the shield, and that's
to protect the image of the game,

protect the image of the league.

It's a very important element
in the NFL

is how associated it is
with Americana.

When the talent was announced,

the owner of the Texans
sent a letter to Tagliablue

critical of the talent.

You're not thinking
it was the right thing,

but was really upset
with what was going on.

This is Houston and it's
the owner of the Texans,

and it's the Super Bowl in his town.

Roger Goodell spoke to me
in the morning and said,

"Before you leave this afternoon
for Europe,

"you should try to talk
to Les Moonves.

"He's the chief executive at CBS,
he should be aware of this."

In 2004, Les Moonves was synonymous
with CBS,

responsible for some of the
most profitable hits on TV.

He was one of the most powerful
executives in broadcasting, period.

So, I spoke to Les from the car as
I was driving to Kennedy airport,

and he told me he was aware
of the issues,

and that I didn't have
to worry about it,

he would make certain
that the Halftime Show presentation

would be first class and that
there would be no problems.

In the NFL's mind, that meant
that it had to be clean,

it had to be family-friendly

and it had to upset and offend
exactly zero people.

It was probably late in December,

and I remember getting a call
from Sally saying, you know,

"We think it's maybe a good idea
to add somebody that might,

"you know, help with the...
temper the tone a little bit,

"and we think about
adding Justin Timberlake."

And I said almost immediately,
"Absolutely."

What do you have planned
specifically?

Can you get into that?
Any surprises?

There's a special guest.
Can't tell you who.

Really?
Yeah, there's a special guest.

You can't give us a clue
or anything?

Nn-nn.

Then, MTV, right before
the Super Bowl,

issued a press release talking about
how the Super Bowl Halftime Show

was going to include
shocking moments.

Some surprises, I think, maybe.

Y'all have to see.

Justin wasn't announced.

He wasn't at the press conference.

The big surprise was supposed
to be the reveal of Justin.

That was the surprise.

Janet Jackson has been
busy working backstage

as everything falls into place

for what could be one of the biggest
halftime shows ever produced.

Thursday night was the only night
that we get the field.

We actually did
a full dress rehearsal

of the halftime show a few times.

And that rehearsal is something
that I always sat through.

There were a lot of great concerns
from sitting there watching it.

I think we wrote a 2.5-page memo

about things that we thought
needed to be changed in the show.

We had to go back and take a look
at some of P Diddy's lyrics.

We had a look at Nelly's lyrics.

Went through a lot of trouble
for this outfit.

Kid Rock wanted to wear a flag.

NFL was really worried
about the flag.

Nobody wanted it
to be disrespectful,

so that became, like, a big thing.

The feedback I got from Sally
and everybody

was they acknowledged they got it
and they would work towards

accomplishing, you know,
the things that we had pointed out.

Shut that off,
we're gonna hang out now.

We had very little rehearsal time
with all the artists individually,

but especially Justin because
he was flying in from Europe.

So, the game plan for the ending
of the halftime show

was they were doing a Janet Jackson
song, and went into Justin's song.

At the end of the song, he sings,

"I'm gonna have you naked
by the end of this song."

And on the word "song", they had
Janet wearing a tearaway skirt,

and he was just gonna take
the skirt off on "song".

She had a full jumpsuit underneath.

After that rehearsal, we all agreed,

from a staging perspective,
it just didn't work.

The NFL gave me notes,
CBS gave me notes

and we all ultimately agreed
we would not do that,

and she was agreeable to it.

I looked at every piece of wardrobe,

along with someone from my standards
and practices department

so that we were, sort of,
legally looking at everything.

I felt like we had delivered
the messages clear.

Goes into the archives...

Wayne Scot Lukas was a stylist
who was part of Janet's team,

and what's been reported is that,
after the rehearsal

for the halftime show, the next day,
he went out shopping on his own.

Sterling silver
sunburst nipple shield

purchased by Jackson's stylist.

And reporting shows that he spent
a lot of time at a local tailor,

and we don't know what it was
that was being worked on there,

but clearly some of the wardrobe
was being adjusted.

We had no knowledge at all

of what might have been happening
between Janet and her team.

Here we go.

The game is starting, and we are
having our talent people coming in

and giving us updates because
Justin Timberlake had flown out

to Los Angeles, and flew back in
on Sunday back to Texas.

Coming up, the AOL Top Speed
Super Bowl XXXVIII Halftime Show

with Janet Jackson.

I believe he landed about 20 minutes
before the halftime show started.

We were literally having
a police escort waiting for him

at the airport so he can arrive
in time for the halftime show.

I remember speaking with him.

"Are you all set?

"Do you have any questions?"

There was a request for him to go
in to speak to Janet, her stylist.

We, as the producers, didn't...

We weren't in the room.

Nobody was in the room.

There was a small conversation that
lasted minutes in her dressing room.

Justin came out.

Everyone went off to get in
their ready-start positions.

We have come to the end of the
first half of Super Bowl XXXVIII.

Houston!

Choose to party!

I saw Janet right before
she went on,

and she was super excited, a little
nervous, like any artist would be

right before a big performance,
but super happy.

# All the girls at my party
look at that body

# Shaking that thing
like you never did see

# Got a nice package alright

# Edit four, three, two, one

# It's all for you. #

At the beginning of
the halftime show,

I was up at the command post
with all the other NFL entities.

I'm watching the show
and there are some things

that we had pointed out that
obviously didn't get adjusted.

You know, it's fait accompli at that
point in time - it's happened.

My daughter basically said,

"Dad, there were parts of the
Halftime Show which were terrible."

Kid Rock had disrespected the flag.

It was gonna be difficult for her

to explain to her fellow
high school teachers

how I and the NFL

could allow a halftime show
like that to get on the air.

Janet is revealed.

We had screens, we had projection.

She is great, the choreography's
fantastic, the costumes are great.

Justin came out.

The song begins.

They're rockin' it, they're doing
the choreography as planned,

and everything was scripted.

And then, of course, we come to the close

and it's the final few seconds of the song,

and, um, you know, that's just
went everything went wrong.

Did you see what just happened?
I barely noticed.

We saw Janet's nipple
for 9/16th of a second.

The song ended, we went wide, the
pyro hit and we started applauding.

We're just, like, oh, my gosh,
you know, we did it.

And then the phone rings.

And I'm thinking I'm
answering that phone

because I'm gonna get, like, "That
was amazing and congratulations."

Instead, I get...

"Did you see what just happened?"

I sort of put the phone like this

and I was like, "Did you guys
just see what happened?"

I asked my stage manager on the
floor, I said, "What's going on?"

She said, "I don't know but I had
a blanket for Janet to wrap her in,"

and she said, "I put the blanket
on her and she was crying."

And he said, "Did you know
that was gonna happen, Sally?"

And I said, "No, Jim, I didn't."

And he goes, "I believe you."

I hung up the phone,
we took a moment.

Our tape operator rewound it.

We looked at the close-up shot,

we looked at the wide shot
and we all stood there in shock.

Of course, one of the first things
we tried to do was go talk to Janet.

Janet fled.

We couldn't get her on the phone.

We couldn't get the manager
on the phone.

Was it an accident?
Was it planned?

Was it a stunt?
Was it publicity?

Like, we never got a clear answer
from Justin.

It was fun.

It was quick, slick, to the point

and, nuh, I enjoyed it,
it was a lot of fun.

You guys were getting pretty hot
and steamy up there.

Hey, man, I love giving y'all
something to talk about.

From my vantage point,
she did look upset.

She looked distraught.

You got nasty with Miss Jackson,
that was pretty cool.

Hey, man, it's every man's dream.

There's something about the
way Janet's head snaps down

at the very end

when she realised how exposed she is
that doesn't feel scripted.

It didn't feel like that's
what she wanted to happen.

It didn't feel right.

If she had been there,
in retrospect,

to, sort of, take the heat
and talk about it,

"Hey, maybe it was a mistake,"
she should've said,

"No-one knew and it was a mistake."

Like, she never said anything to us.

Here we are trying to ask the person
that this just happened to

'cause it happened to her,
and she was gone.

She was on a plane back to,
I think, LA.

Then, we sought out Justin.

We pulled him aside one to one.

"Justin, what just happened?"

He's like, "That was never
meant to happen.

"I was told you guys knew."

We didn't.

He was very apologetic.

He manned up.

I think Les Moonves
reached out to me

assuming that I was unhappy with
what happened at the halftime show

to explain that he was not happy,
either, and that CBS would get to

the bottom of how it happened,
who was involved, who knew about it.

I was a wreck, personally,
and I pretty much just lost it.

I was in tears.

People were crying.

Like, it was...

Yeah, it was really upsetting,
it was very emotional.

I felt betrayed.

My instincts told me that there was
a private conversation

between wardrobe stylist and artist

where someone thought
this would be a good idea.

And it backfired.

Janet, take responsibility
for your actions.

Just say, "I'm a trollop.

"I need attention.
Buy my new album."

That's all you have to say.

Offensive, embarrassing
to us and our fans.

The Federal Communications
Commission is investigating.

The National Football League
is livid.

I'm inclined to believe
they planned it.

She's implying that Justin was
in cahoots with her against MTV.

This was wildly inappropriate.

We have to say enough's enough.

To have sexualised the Super Bowl

in the manner that they did it
is just unforgivable.

The incident could result
in a hefty fine for CBS.

Fines could reach the millions.

When 140 million people
are watching something,

there is no one reaction.

There are dozens of reactions
across the spectrum.

Truth is in the eye of the beholder
in terms of what they think

is entertaining and what they think
is inappropriate entertainment.

A patheticism on the part
of Janet Jackson,

who probably has seen
the best days of her career.

This is a woman who's 37 years old,

which is...this is almost geriatric
in the age of pop music.

When you're in the middle of a hurricane,

you don't really know how you feel.

If I were the president
of Virgin Records...

But we started feeling
indescribably bad for Janet

and the reaction that was starting
to coalesce against her.

Justin Timberlake got his statement
up before Janet Jackson did.

And immediately the term
wardrobe malfunction...

Wardrobe malfunction.
Wardrobe malfunction.

Wardrobe malfunction.

..turned into something
that has been

burned into our
cultural consciousness.

Wardrobe malfunction.
Wardrobe malfunction.

Janet was nowhere to be found.

It was the feeling
that she was unresponsive.

Now, maybe she doesn't think
she was unresponsive,

but certainly the impression
that she was not around

did not do her any favours
with a lot of people

who were quite angry
at these companies.

On Monday, Janet issued the first
of several of her apologies.

She absolves all the
corporate entities.

What were we supposed to see,
the red-laced bra?

Part of the bust?

Originally, people in her camp
were saying today they were only

supposed to see...viewers were only
supposed to see her red-laced bra.

Got a call prior to the show

saying that they wanted
to do a costume reveal.

Now, I was under the impression

that what was going to be revealed
in the costume reveal

was a red brassiere,
a bustier, forgive me,

and, you know, got in, didn't
really have time to rehearse it.

Got to the field, went on stage,
was in the moment,

and, when what happened happened,

all I could say was,
"Oh, my god, oh, my god."

Justin Timberlake has distanced
himself from Janet Jackson.

He was seen on 'Access Hollywood'
saying,

"This is pretty cool, gave people
something to talk about."

And later he's like,
"Oh, I'm so sorry."

Clearly, two different stories.

I don't feel like
I need publicity like this,

and I wouldn't want to be
involved with this stunt,

especially something
of this magnitude.

What's so painful about that moment

is everything

Janet had been working for
and towards,

building up to in her career,

was just taken away in that moment
by this white man.

There was two people on stage.

He did it, too.

Janet's breast didn't just jump out.

It was widely felt from people
at Viacom, CBS, MTV

that Janet Jackson's apology
was insufficient

and Justin Timberlake
was a lot more forthcoming.

More than anything else,

Moonves felt that he had been
publicly embarrassed.

At a certain point,
on the advice of management,

she did a second apology,
this time a video apology.

Janet Jackson released
a video statement during the night

apologising for her
Super Bowl flash.

My decision to change
the Super Bowl performance

was actually made
after the final rehearsal.

MTV, CBS, the NFL had no knowledge
of this whatsoever

and, unfortunately, the whole thing
went wrong in the end.

I am really sorry
if I offended anyone.

That was truly not my intention.

The contrition that was expected,
the apologies that were expected,

I just don't know if there was
any amount of apologising

that she could've done

to mollify the outrage that...
not that she caused

but that the incident,

and the way it became
its own escalated tornado.

I was shocked.

I was shocked.
I was shocked.

They have to now monitor what they
do on a Sunday evening family show?

We are boycotting MTV because they
shouldn't let those things happen.

Moonves wanted an apology
from Janet Jackson.

He wanted it in person,

and this is a guy who is known
by people who worked for him

as someone who would hold grudges,

somebody who quoted 'The Godfather',
somebody that you did not cross

because he had the power to
make or break your career.

And he did not get it.

Janet Jackson never
gave that apology.

An executive at CBS's
communications department

told me Justin Timberlake showed up
to the Los Angeles offices of CBS,

and gave that in-person apology,
and basically kissed the ring.

Justin was even pretty teary-eyed
about it.

But neither apology
managed to stem the uproar

that was coming from the public.

They knew it.

Some people knew it
more than others.

I don't know, I always thought
this was the same artist

who calls herself 'Nasty Girl'.

The entire program was not tasteful.

It was a violation of
indecency standards, frankly.

This has really stirred up
a discussion

that's been, sort of,
under the surface for a while

about what's appropriate
when it comes to entertainment.

I don't know how much it would have
cost to buy that public awareness,

but that earned media,
it was worth a lot.

Our website was the first
of its kind

that any member of the public
could fill out and click 'submit'

and it would go immediately
to the FCC.

Prior to Janet Jackson's
halftime show,

I think we had about
750,000 members.

And a couple days after,
we had a million members.

It was a big deal for us.

Janet Jackson's
Super Bowl appearance

has prompted a flood of complaints
to the government.

A group of people, I believe
it's in Tennessee, I'm not sure,

filed a class action suit
against Janet, Justin, CBS, MTV...

The Janet Jackson episode
announced to America

what I had been trying and pushing
on feverishly in the Congress.

Finally, it was like
the whole country goes,

"Oh, that's what
you're talking about."

Yes, that's what I'm talking about.

By Tuesday, the protests
have gotten so loud

that the FCC gets involved

and announces that they're
gonna open an investigation

into the decency of the performance.

Not only is it, sort of, a crass
and sophomoric demonstration,

it may be an illegal one.

The next thing you know, wanted
my computer, wanted all my files.

Every single person that worked
on the Halftime Show,

we were all being investigated.

Some people, I think,
lost their jobs over it.

Others had to be deposed by lawyers
and that was a little scary.

We'll be pretty swift about this.

This has a lot of interest
behind it.

And I don't like to speculate
exactly the time

'cause we'll go where
the facts will tell us.

CBS is furious.

Les Moonves feels betrayed.

And there starts to be a question of
whether Janet Jackson is still going

to be invited to the Grammy Awards
that are happening that next week.

I was former vice-president of
communications and artist relations

for the Recording Academy.

Even though Janet and Justin
both gave written apologies...

..it was Les Moonves from CBS

who decided that,
if Janet Jackson and Justin

were going to be on
the Grammy Awards,

they would have to publicly
apologise on the show,

and that's where things
got really sticky.

Is this fair that Justin Timberlake

gets to perform at the Grammys,
Janet Jackson doesn't?

Absolutely not.

He's invited to perform.

She will not even
be in the building.

She is not invited.

The Recording Academy
never said to Janet or Justin,

"You are uninvited."

We never did that.

CBS wanted Janet Jackson
and Justin Timberlake

to make formal apologies
on the show,

and Justin decided to be on the show
and Janet decided not to be.

Was it because of the apology?

I don't know. One can assume.

Both artists, leading up to the
Grammy Awards, had our full support.

All we wanted to do
was help both of them

really make this
a positive experience,

but CBS had their, kind of,
wanted to have an apology.

We're separate entities but,
when you have someone who is

paying your bills for the entire
year, you have to listen to them.

It felt like another request for
something that was an accident,

something that just felt...didn't
need to be laid completely on her,

and so she didn't do it
and good for her.

There are these
really rigid containers

that the world expects
Black women to fit into.

The moment she did something
out of line,

like, a decision was made
to just exclude her.

She really just became
despicable overnight.

And the Grammy goes to...

Behave.

Justin Timberlake.

It's a...

It's an honour just to be
in the company...

This was going to make his solo
career, for sure,

and so they absolutely had way more
riding on this than Janet did.

I...this is overwhelming.
I don't know what to say.

Listen, I know it's been
a rough week on everybody, and...

We love you!

What occurred was unintentional,

completely regrettable and I
apologise if you guys were offended.

Um...

This has been a dream of mine...

Don't.

I already got enough, don't...

Thank you. I don't know what to say.

This is officially the greatest
moment of my life. Thank you.

What was the malfunction? Were both
breasts supposed to pop out?

Shocking.
Janet Jackson.

Clay, I'm gonna have you naked
by the end of this promo.

Janet being a no-show at the Grammys

only adds to all this noise
that's swirling around her,

and only contributes
to this transformation

from Janet Jackson the superstar
to Janet Jackson the punchline.

Welcome to the show.
Thank you.

Now, that's almost malfunctioning,
isn't it?

I remember that
Dave Letterman interview.

You smell wonderful.
You always smell great.

I really appreciate that in a guest.
Thank you.

He just, kinda,
won't stop needling her.

So, it was just a mistake
is what you're saying?

Justin Timberlake wasn't supposed to

pull your...rip your blouse off,
he wasn't supposed to do that?

He was, he wasn't?

But, you know, she's clearly trying
to talk about something else.

What exactly transpired?

Dave, you're gonna
make me relive this.

I want to put all that behind me.

Well...
I truly do.

Well, not me.

The way that Janet went from

this top-selling pop artist
to just chum...

Janet lost her damn mind whippin'
out her titty on a Sunday afternoon.

It's just the clearest example
of misogynoir in our culture.

And a 40-year-old titty at that.

You can't just whip out
a 40-year-old titty!

That's your man's titty.

That is your man's titty.

I mean, I think that,
for Janet Jackson,

the ultimate indignity
might have been that

'The New York Times'
actually ended up critiquing

Janet Jackson's breast
and saying that it looked like

the average middle-aged
woman's breast

and may not have helped her image
as a sex symbol.

She had this, like, star
on her breast.

It was like an ornament.
It was like a Christmas ornament.

I mean, I think that's raising
a lot of suspicions among her fans.

The idea that Janet had
this decoration on her body

seemed like evidence
that she was guilty.

This could have very well
been deliberate.

Why else would she wear
this nipple ring?

It's the biggest indictment of our
culture, the idea that a Black woman

wouldn't be adorning herself
just for herself,

that she wouldn't
want to be beautiful

underneath what she was wearing
just for her.

She was described as coming off
of an S&M catalogue.

She was described as
being this dominatrix,

like she was a bitch in heat.

The fact that she is a Black woman
and he is a white man

further complicate that in terms
of the race narrative, as well.

People get together around their TVs

to celebrate football and to
get entertained at halftime

and not watching gang-bang rappers
grab their private areas

or Janet Jackson expose a breast.

This goes back to
antebellum America.

The dehumanisation and the
commodification of Black bodies,

particularly Black female bodies.

If you see them as chattel,
then they're simply Black bodies

that really don't have crimes
committed against them.

This moment was so shockingly crude
and awful and horrifying.

Why has television played it
670,000 times?

You know why,
because people want to see it.

The Super Bowl immediately strained
Virgin's relationship with MTV.

All of a sudden,
MTV was in trouble with CBS,

and they were dealing
with those issues,

while we were dealing
with our issues

of getting ready to release
an album.

Her latest CD is called 'Damita Jo'.

Please welcome Janet Jackson.

There's effectively a blacklist.

I use this word advisedly
because it wasn't across the board.

It wasn't as if the entire industry
blacklisted Janet.

Nobody said to us,
"We're just not gonna play Janet."

You just had to kinda discern it
over time.

But, meanwhile, the record
is losing traction,

the record is losing steam.

Clear Channel, at that time,

had about 1,200 radio stations
across the country.

We had 200 million listeners a week.

All of the programming decisions
were made locally.

And so there couldn't have been
a system-wide blacklist.

Now, if there was
a blacklist locally,

in Salt Lake City, for example,
because the program manager there

knew that his audience was
offended by what Janet did

on Super Bowl Sunday,

then that's entirely conceivable
that her new album

wasn't played in Salt Lake City
on Clear Channel air waves.

Two songs from her album
have fizzled on Top 40 radio.

And MTV, the outfit that produced
the Super Bowl Halftime Show,

has not exactly gone bananas
over her music video,

giving it no air play whatsoever.

I don't know if blacklist
is the word

that they tried to do to my sister,

but it sure seemed like
they were trying

to diminish her career
and her ability.

We all knew, as a family,

we knew that they were, in some way,
sabotaging Aunty Janet.

To me, when you're
behind the scenes,

influencing another artist's career,

you can call it whatever you want,

but her career suffered because
of someone whose ego was hurt.

We'll never know how that album
would've done in a vacuum.

The album, the quality of the songs,
the incident,

it's all mixed together in a stew

that we'll never be able
to pull apart.

A significant pock mark
on an otherwise brilliant career.

The way Janet Jackson was deserted

by the successful white companies
was despicable.

Richard, right here, please.

Richard Branson said that he bought
Necker Island

because of the success
of 'Rhythm Nation'.

As Janet Jackson had a hit, I would
build a little piece of the island.

And he didn't say a word.

I'd build another little piece
of the island.

The damage to Janet's reputation
has a cumulative effect.

And, ultimately, she parts ways
with Virgin Records,

and it would have a negative impact
on all aspects of her career.

She never made mainstream movies
again after that.

There had been an offer for her
to portray Lena Horne in a movie,

and that offer was rescinded.

Disneyland had a statue of Mickey
Mouse in a Rhythm Nation outfit,

which they took down
after the Super Bowl.

McDonald's had a deal with Justin
Timberlake which stayed in place.

Her career gets put on ice,
and Justin is rewarded.

Looking at how the two most biggest
American brands

dealt with these two stars is really telling

about how they were gonna be seen
in the culture in a bigger way.

He profits off of his proximity
to Black culture

and his proximity to Janet, right,

and it took us a really long time

to understand just how messed up
that was.

The issue is here that
the air waves that are used

by radio and television that are
broadcast are public air waves.

They are owned by the public.

They are licenced from the public
to radio stations,

and they must be used
for the common good.

We're putting together
a piece of legislation.

This is the Janet Jackson Bill,
for lack of a better terminology.

Working with people,

Parents Television Council, other
interested members on this topic.

Committee members
'cause now the committees

had this big wave of interest.

Good morning, everyone.

I have been swamped,

thousands of letters and emails
from folks

downright desperate and frustrated
that the government has not

adequately used its authority
to rein in broadcast indecency.

Miss Wilson?

Congresswoman Wilson
was extremely effective

in getting her views across.

She was visibly shaken
by the whole experience.

I want to know how something
like this made it onto the show

in a very scripted,
rehearsed-for-weeks performance.

Her view was that executives
like Mel Karmazin,

who was the head of Viacom,
know exactly what they're doing

when they put this kind of thing
on the air.

You knew what you were doing.

You knew what kind of entertainment
you're selling.

And you wanted us all to be abuzz,

here in this room and on the
playground in my kids' school,

because it improves your ratings,

it improves your market share
and it lines your pockets.

Thank you, Mr Chair.

Miss Jackson's unrehearsed
and unapproved display

went far beyond what is acceptable
standards for our broadcast network.

Mr Karmazin didn't really
fully take responsibility.

It is clear that nobody at CBS,
nobody at Viacom,

nobody at MTV
and certainly nobody at the NFL

knew what was going to happen.

Miss Jackson has now
publicly admitted

that she and her choreographer,
unbeknownst to anyone else,

met privately in advance
with Justin Timberlake.

And really took
absolutely no responsibility

from the perspective of CBS.

The exposure of Janet Jackson's
breast...

Janet Jackson...
Janet Jackson...

Janet Jackson's Super Bowl show...

The Janet Jackson incident...

There was almost this rejoicing,

this gleefulness,
that we can now punish her.

I must take issue with one aspect
of what I see and what I hear.

My friend from Nebraska, Mr Terry,
and others that made comments

calling the incident at the Super
Bowl the Janet Jackson incident.

Well, where's Justin Timberlake?

Justin Timberlake deserves more
than just a slap on the hand.

It takes two to tango, and I think

only a sleazy man would allow Janet
Jackson to take the full blame.

I must remind the members
of the committee,

this is, indeed, Black History Month

and, with that in mind,
I have to tell you that,

when I saw this occurrence
at the Super Bowl,

it innately reminded me of the kind
of atrocities that have been

visited upon not only
African-Americans in general

but African-American women,
in particular.

I know that that's kind of...

The bill was a simple bill.

It communicated to the United States
and to the television industry

that we're gonna take this
more seriously.

Thank you.

Senator Brownback
introduced legislation

that increased the fines by tenfold.

This was something that
was a tangible victory.

In the wake of the
Janet Jackson incident,

unfortunately, Clear Channel
got caught in the crosshairs.

It's become increasingly
difficult to do my show.

The same show I did a year ago
the government will fine me for.

I have millions of dollars of fines
against me.

Executives at
Clear Channel Communications

have made it crystal clear to
radio personality Howard Stern

that they will not tolerate
raunchy content on the air waves,

pulling the shock jock's show
from six cities.

And Howard Stern ended up
being terminated.

CBS was fined more than half a
million dollars after this incident,

which they fought and fought
and fought.

Les Moonves was so angry
about how everything had gone down

with the halftime show

that he even asked his executives
in a meeting whether they could

make Janet Jackson pay for the fines
that would come from the FCC.

Nobody at CBS
wanted to pay that fine

if for no other reason
than principle alone.

CBS appealed its fines
all the way up to the Supreme Court,

and ultimately
they got it overturned.

You know, I'm not
a big second guesser.

You play the game and, if you win,
you win, if you lose, you lose.

You don't sit around on
Monday morning and say,

"If I'd only done X,
I'd be a winner."

If I had to do it again,
I would do what we did.

We fired some people.

MTV was never invited again
to do the halftime show.

We all, sort of,
went our merry ways.

I have never been invited,
I know you're shocked,

to ever direct again.

It's OK.

My feelings aren't hurt.

I announced my resignation
from the league in August of 2004

and, of the 26 games
I was in charge of,

this is one of those things that's
gonna be out there and remembered

probably more so than some of the
really good things that happened.

I understand it was a huge headache
for the NFL, CBS, MTV,

but the end result is

you can't get around the fact
she took the hit for this.

Janet wore a scarlet letter for
this incident for quite a long time.

24 hours after that Super Bowl,
Janet issued an apology,

and I read in another magazine
that you regret making that apology.

Is that true? Why?

Uh, it was an accident.

Do you think Justin Timberlake
left you hanging out there?

I am speaking to Miss Jackson.

You know, when we talk about racism
and we talk about sexism,

the fallout from the
Super Bowl incident

is what we're talking about.

That's what it looks like.

If you consider it 50-50, I mean,
I probably got 10% of the blame,

and that...I think that
says something about society.

Then, as the years went on,
while Justin just got bigger...

It is great to be here,
hosting 'Saturday Night Live'...

..I think I just got angrier
about it, you know,

angrier and angrier about it.

I do have time.
You'd do halftime?

I do halftime.

You're doing the Halftime Show
at the Super Bowl?

14 years after the 2004 incident,
Justin Timberlake is invited back

to be the headliner of
the Super Bowl in 2018.

It was basically the most obvious evidence

that almost nothing about
that incident stuck to him.

And, while Justin has been forgiven
and gets to perform again this year,

some fans are calling
for justice for Janet.

Trending yesterday was

The internet says we are
not gonna let this pass.

We don't forget.

I remember seeing those tweets
bubble up and the images,

and I remember feeling so relieved, you know,

that the chapter wasn't over, that
the story wasn't closed on Janet.

The support was definitely a catalyst

for Janet's induction into
the Rock'n'Roll Hall of Fame.

I want to say a personal word
to each and every fan.

You've been with me every step
of the way, through all my ups.

All my downs.

I have never, I never have and I
never will take you for granted.

I love you with all my heart.
Thank you so much.

The tide turned so much, actually,

that Michael Powell,

who was the head of the FCC
back in 2004, comes out and says

the reaction was overblown,
but it still feels bittersweet.

You know, it still feels like
it took too long.

It feels like...

..the pounds of flesh
it extracted...

..we'll never know,
we'll never actually know

how much it took to get to
where she is now.

Ironically, what's considered
appropriate now

is owning your sexuality.

Owning your identity,

whether it's Ariana Grande,
Nicki Minaj, Beyonce, obviously,

and now Cardi B and Megan Thee
Stallion on a record like 'WAP',

women are generally applauded
for their sexual agency.

I like women saying
what they want to say,

and acting how they want to act,
and dressing how they want to dress,

and Janet Jackson
laid all that groundwork.

And, Rock'n'Roll Hall of Fame,
please, 2020, induct more women.

Thank you so much.

Breaking news - 'The New Yorker'
tonight reporting allegations

from six women who say
they were sexually harassed

and intimidated by the chairman
and CEO of CBS, Les Moonves.

14 years later, the man who had
demanded more contrition

from Janet Jackson for supposed harm
she did to CBS

was forced out of the company

when he was accused of
sexual harassment,

and dismissed those accusations
as an effort to destroy his career.

The latest round of accusations

ranges from violent encounters
to sexual assault.

And so, for all of his ire,

ultimately he was the one who
had to step down in disgrace.

I'm really grateful that
we've arrived at this moment

of a cultural reckoning, and a
re-evaluation of what happened,

but we should never forget

what they did to Janet, right, we
should never forget that outrage.

What was the cost for this woman
and was it worth it?

I want to thank all of you

for making 'Control' number one
once again after 35 years.

I never, never in a million years,

I would never think
that this would happen.

I really appreciate you
and I love you so, so much.