How the legacy of Janet Jackson was almost erased by Nipplegate

Ms Jackson went from unsuccessful beginnings to become a pop icon and then having everything she worked for stripped from her. Her legacy was almost entirely erased because of something as simple as a nipple which later turned out to be even more complex.

Janet was by no means just getting by on her last name and had a lot to prove with not only her brother being Michael Jackson but being a part of one of the most talented families to touch the industry, the Jackson’s family.

Starting in 1982, Janet Jackson kicked off her music career and released two unsuccessful albums. One self-titled album and her sophomore album ‘Dream Street’ which was described as bland dance music. With 1986’s ‘Control’ which is often referred to as the clear landmark in her career, she transformed into a pop icon.

The album was a personal album reflecting her life. At the time, the album saw all of its singles go on to reach the top 5 and the album itself went on to sell over 10 million copies. It is regarded as a blueprint for artists such as Britney Spears, Rihanna and many more to come after her. She affirmed her dominance with this album in years to follow.

Janet was also regarded as an important force for speaking out on social issues, more so she established herself as a symbol fashion icon and had impeccable dance skills that would be used for a lifetime.

In 1993, after the release her album ‘Janet,’ she signed the biggest contract in music history during that time. The contract was reportedly worth between 40 and 50 million dollars, making her the highest paid artist during that time. It was a major accomplishment for a black woman.

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Her greatness didn’t stop there. With the release of 1997’s ‘Velvet Rope’ which is regarded as another milestone in her career, she signed a new contract with Virgin Records worth $80 million. It was the largest recording contract in history at that time.

That goes on to prove that Janet was truly a woman in control and had the pretty perfect reign. After 2001’s ‘All For You’ and having a pretty much spotless legacy that was revered, it seemed only right that Miss Jackson took the stage to perform at the 2004 Super Bowl Halftime show.

However, things didn’t turn out the way they were supposed to and the aftermath saw Janet, a woman who had been so unapologetic about femininity and women being expressive, pressured into apologizing for the accidental exposure of her nipple. This incident is widely regarded as ‘Nipplegate.’

During the show, she brought out Justin Timberlake and even with this segment of the show being Justin Timberlake’s song, Janet still somehow ended up receiving all of the blame.

According a statement released by Janet’s publicist, Justin was supposed to pull her rubber bustier to reveal a red lace bra. The garment collapsed and her breast was accidentally revealed.

After the event, Timberlake told a publication, “hey man we love giving you all something to talk about.” Meanwhile Jackson was forced to release a written statement in a video apology and went on a press store for years, being apologetic about the incident.

Jackson then released her eighth studio album ‘Damita Jo’ and it became her worst selling album ever. She was blacklisted by Clear Channel Communications which at the time owned MTV and radio as well. She had relatively no way to promote her music anymore. It also stopped further projects. She was supposed to star in a movie produced by ABC, but was fired.

Janet was also not allowed to attend the Grammy awards while Timberlake was not only allowed to attend, but was also asked to perform. Not only was he milking the press from ‘Nipplegate,’ he was milking his high profile breakup with Britney Spears.

Justin’s career completely launched through the controversy. He was even solidifying his pop icon status during that time. Justin gave a half-hearted apology two years later during the release of his second album ‘Futures Love Sounds.’

The true controversy of the story didn’t stop there, it only maximised when it was announced that Justin was going to be performing at the Super Bowl again and Janet was not accompanying him. People were outraged that he had practically no blame in the matter and it went on to even put a damper on his career.

While his career wasn’t essentially destroyed, it however placed more controversy around him. To this day, Justin is still being called out and pushed to give Janet an apology.

Justice for Janet has also been highly requested to allow Janet to perform at the Super Bowl again, but so far the signs point to nothing happening. It is also worth noting that after this incident, Janet’s career never quite recovered commercially and her songs haven’t topped the charts since.

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Justin isn’t the only man who should give Janet an apology though. It was later revealed that a head figure at CBS that goes by the name of Les Moonves allegedly wanted to destroy Janet’s career after the halftime show.

Moonves allegedly ordered VH1, MTV and all Vietcom owned radio stations to stop playing Janet’s songs and music videos. Moonves was angered again by Jackson’s 2011 book ‘True You: A Journey to Finding and Loving Yourself’ published by Simon & Schuster, which was owned by CBS.

Ironically, the man who was so furious over ‘Nipplegate’ was accused of misconduct in 2018 and resigned from CBS.

Although Janet is now a celebrated music icon, it wasn’t always that easy for her. If ‘Nipplegate’ never happened, she would have been one of the few living legends to have a spotless legacy. But nonetheless, the grace she showed in the following years after the incident truly helped showcase her unbreakable spirit.

She is undoubtedly one of the most influential artists alive today and deserves her flowers and much more while she’s still here.