Justin Timberlake returning to the Super Bowl would’ve been unthinkable six or seven years ago

Sports Illustrated

The Janet Jackson-Justin Timberlake “Nipplegate” incident in 2004 had dramatic consequences for years. The NFL turned into the “No Fun League.” And, says Jack Dickey, “for years thereafter America would live in the stupid shadow of that wardrobe malfunction, in a heyday of condemnation for so-called indecency. Jackson, as a woman, got the worst of it. She was branded as a harlot; Viacom and its subsidiaries stopped playing her songs and videos.” He adds: “Six or seven years ago, at the NFL headquarters, the words ‘Justin Timberlake’ and ‘Super Bowl halftime show’ would have paired like ‘John Wilkes Booth’ and ‘Ford’s Theatre,’ so overwhelming was the uproar following the ex-Mouseketeer’s appearance with Janet Jackson at Super Bowl XXXVIII in 2004.”

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