Super Bowl XXXVIII halftime show controversy

The 38th Super Bowl was shown on television as it was happening on February 1, 2004 on CBS. The halftime show of the Super Bowl got controversy when Janet Jackson's breast was revealed by Justin Timberlake to everyone watching the show. This caused a big debate on broadcasting things that people might see as offensive.

MTV was the producer of the halftime show. 143.6 million people watched the halftime show when it first happened. The incident with Jackson and Timberlake made CBS and MTV remove Jackson's songs from its radio and television channels. The Federal Communications Commission gave CBS a fine of US$27,500 for the incident. The fine was made bigger for US$325,000 and then even bigger, for US$550,000. The Third Circuit Court of Appeals removed the fine in 2011. The FCC tried to put another fine on CBS in 2012, but it was rejected.

The incident made Janet Jackson the most searched words ever on the Internet. It also became the most watched event on TiVo and made 35,000 people become new subscribers to TiVo. The term "wardrobe malfunction" (meaning an error related to clothing) was made because of the incident. Also published by CNN.com as "Apologetic Jackson says 'costume reveal' went awry". It was later added to Webster's Dictionary.

 References 

38 halftime controversy
Category:Controversies in the United States
Category:2004 in television
Category:Janet Jackson
Category:Justin Timberlake