How the 2004 Super Bowl Halftime Show Changed Everything: The Untold Story
The 2004 Super Bowl halftime show created a massive stir. Janet Jackson, Justin Timberlake, and MTV all issued apologies for the incident, but the damage had already been done, setting CBS adrift in hot water with the FCC. In a statement published by The Washington Post, then-chairman Michael Powell expressed his outrage, stating, “I am outraged at what I saw during the halftime show of the Super Bowl. Like millions of Americans, my family and I gathered around the television for a celebration. Instead, that celebration was tainted by a classless, crass, and deplorable stunt. Our nation’s children, parents, and citizens deserve better.”
The Fallout
As a result of the controversy, the FCC slapped CBS with a staggering $550,000 fine, backed by around 540,000 complaints. However, an appeals court eventually overturned the fine. The aftermath of Janet Jackson’s performance went on to reshape the cultural landscape in various ways.
The Birth of “Wardrobe Malfunction” and YouTube
One major development stemming from the incident was the coining of the term “wardrobe malfunction,” which describes any instance when clothing shifts out of place, revealing more private areas of the body. What’s more, Janet Jackson’s show also played an instrumental role in the inception of YouTube. In fact, the co-founders of the video-sharing platform have stated that the performance, along with the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami, inspired them to create YouTube, as it had been challenging to find footage of those events prior to the platform’s existence.