NFL star Tom Brady said that Janet Jackson’s infamous wardrobe malfunction during the 2004 Super Bowl halftime show was “probably a good thing” for the sport.
During the 2004 performance, Justin Timberlake ripped off a piece of Jackson’s clothing and exposed her breast to millions of viewers while the two performed “Rock Your Body”.
Brady recalled the incident during a recent episode of his Let’s Go! podcast with former NFL player Larry Fitzgerald and sportscaster Jim Gray.
“I didn’t see much. I’d much rather not see it when I’m playing,” Brady said about the famous halftime shows.
“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.”
He continued: “It took a while for us to figure out exactly what had gone on,” Brady continued. “I think in the end, it was probably a good thing for the NFL because everyone got to talk about it, and it was just more publicity and more publicity for halftime shows. Is any publicity bad publicity? That’s what they say, so, who knows?”
The Independent has contacted Jackson’s representatives for comment.
Jackson, who dubbed the incident a “wardrobe malfunction”, had her songs banned from radio and her career permanently scarred by the episode, which was dubbed “Nipplegate”. Meanwhile, Timberlake escaped with little criticism and his career went from strength to strength.
Timberlake issued an apology to Jackson and Britney Spears in 2021, as scrutiny over his past “missteps” intensified following the release of the Framing Britney Spears documentary.
“I care for and respect these women and I know I failed,” he wrote.
The incident is further explored in Jackson’s 2022 Lifetime documentary. In it, the “Better Days” singer revealed they had “moved on” from the incident, adding that “it’s time for everyone else to do the same”.
“Justin and I are very good friends, and we will always be very good friends,” she told fans in a clip recorded in Miami last year.
