Celebrities
Tom Brady’s thoughts on Janet Jackson’s infamous Super Bowl halftime show
The retired NFL quarterback claims Janet Jackson’s infamous 2004 Super Bowl wardrobe malfunction was worth it for the sake of the NFL.
During a recent episode of his ‘Let’s Go!’ podcast, Tom Brady stated that Janet Jackson’s wardrobe malfunction during her 2004 Super Bowl halftime performance with singer Justin Timberlake was probably good for the NFL.
Brady led the New England Patriots to victory over the Carolina Panthers that year, but it was the halftime show that had everyone talking.
Brady says it was good for the NFL
“I didn’t see much. I’d much rather not see it when I’m playing,” Brady said about Super Bowl halftime show. “Even I remember when we beat Carolina…We came off the field and that was when we had the wardrobe malfunction with Justin Timberlake and Janet Jackson.
[The media was] asking me about that. I couldn’t even understand what they were telling me about. They said, ‘Did you see the halftime show?’ and I said, ‘I didn’t see anything.’ I was thinking about the game.
“I think in the end, it was probably a good thing for the NFL,” Brady said. “Because everyone got to talk about it, and it was just more publicity and more publicity for halftime shows.”
“Is any publicity bad publicity?” he added rhetorically. “That’s what they say, so, who knows?”
Social media responds to Brady
Brady’s comments got people talking on social media. Many critics called out his statements for being misogynistic and ignorant of the effects the performance had on Jackson’s career.
“I don’t think he understands the amount of s*** she went through after that backlash. That comment was too superficial and shallow,” one Twitter user wrote.
During the infamous 2004 Super Bowl halftime performance by Justin Timberlake and Janet Jackson, Timberlake accidentally ripped part of Jackson’s outfit off, exposing her to millions of viewers.
Subsequently dubbed “nipplegate”, the incident had lasting effects on Jackson’s career as a performer. Timberlake, on the other hand, faced little to no repercussions despite accidentally causing the wardrobe malfunction.
Still, a few fans of Brady spoke out in support of his statements, arguing that Brady never intentionally justified the treatment Jackson received.
“But it was good for the nfl. They got all kinds of publicity from it. He didn’t say it was good for Janet,” tweeted one fan.