Fans flocked to social media on Sunday to question whyMaroon 5‘sAdam Levinewas able to purposely remove his shirt during the2019 Super Bowl LIII Pepsi Halftime Show, while Janet Jackson was criticized for herinfamous wardrobe malfunctionduring her 2004 Super Bowl set withJustin Timberlake.
During the Super Bowl Halftime show from the Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, Levine, 39, removed his shirt while playing guitar. But people questioned Levine’s revealing performance, recalling how Jackson, 52, was “blackballed” after Timberlake went to remove her corset and accidentally tore off her bra too, exposing her bare breast.
Controversy ensued, Timberlake and Jackson issued apologies, and the Federal Communications Commission charged CBS, the network that broadcast the game that year, with a $550,000 indecency fine for the incident, dubbed “Nipplegate.” CBS is again broadcasting the big game this year.
According to Timberlake, who spoke ahead of his performance at the 2018 Super Bowl, both he and Jackson have made amends since then.
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“I stumbled through it, to be quite honest,” Timberlake, now 38, told Beats 1‘sZane Lowelast year of moving past the drama. “I had my wires crossed and it’s just something that you have to look back on and go like, ‘Okay, well you know, you can’t change what’s happened but you can move forward and learn from it.’”
Jackson, however, has not been invited back to perform at America’s most popular sporting event.
“So Adam Levine can perform shirtless but Janet Jackson can’t?” questioned one user on Twitter. “This is so very wrong haha.”
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This was Maroon 5’s first-ever Super Bowl performance. Last year’s featuredTimberlake, while 2017 wasLady Gaga‘s time to shine. Other big names that have taken the stage in recent years includeBeyoncé,Coldplay,Katy Perry,Missy ElliottandLenny Kravitz.
“No one thought about it more than I did,” Levinesaid during an interview withEntertainment TonightThursday ahead of the big game. “No one put more thought and love into this than I did.”
source: people.com
