Singer Justin Timberlake will be returning to the Super Bowl stage for the first time since he was part of Janet Jackson's "wardrobe malfunction" in 2004, the NFL confirmed Sunday.
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Timberlake, who will be performing in his third Super Bowl halftime show, will be the featured artist during the intermission of the NFL’s showcase game on Feb. 4, 2018. He previously appeared at Super Bowl XXXV in Tampa in 2001, but it was his appearance with Jackson at Super Bowl XXXVIII in Houston in 2004 that caused controversy.
An estimated 140 million people were watching the show when at the end, Timberlake popped off part of Jackson's corset, exposing her breast. The incident, later described as a "wardrobe malfunction," led to numerous complaints and a large fine by the Federal Communications Commission, The New York Times reported. The fine was eventually vacated by an appeals court, the Times reported. For Jackson, there was more fallout. Rolling Stone reported she was essentially blacklisted, which affected her music career.
During an interview televised during NBC’s “Sunday Night Football” broadcast, Mike Tirico asked Timberlake if the NFL had addressed the incident with him.
The singer smiled and said, “That won’t happen again.”
Timberlake, the 10-time Grammy Award-winning singer and songwriter, rose to fame with the boy band 'N Sync. He has since had solo hits such as "Sexy Back," "Cry Me a River" and "Rock Your Body."
Timberlake also had a hit with "Can't Stop the Feeling" on the soundtrack for the animated movie, "Trolls."
While Jackson remains banned from singing at the Super Bowl. Several people on Twitter were angered by the choice of Timberlake.
“It had better damn well be a 15 minute apology to Janet Jackson for hanging her out to dry in 2004,” one person tweeted.
Another tweeted that Timberlake was “still ensuring white privilege remains in style in 2017. Meanwhile, Janet Jackson is still left in the cold.”
“ My only request is that you don't perform any of the music inspired by her brother or any Black artist. You love our culture, but disrespect our people.”