Justin Timberlake Super Bowl Controversy: Closer Look Ahead Of 2018 Halftime Show

Justin Timberlake is set to perform during the Super Bowl LII halftime show Sunday night, but it won’t be his first time doing so. The 37-year-old’s first go of it was in 2001 as part of ‘NSYNC and his second time was in 2004, and many assumed it would be his final time, as well, after the controversy his show, which featured Janet Jackson, caused.

The two sang a surprise duet of their hit song “Rock Your Body,” giving the audience an epic end to the show, but no one realized just how monumental their end would be until it arrived. The song itself didn’t cause chaos, but the performance that came with the lyrics did.

“Bet I’ll have you naked by the end of this song,” Timberlake sang, as those are the lyrics to his famous track.

As he gave his grand vocal performance for the 143.6 million viewers watching, he grabbed at Jackson’s leather top, snatching off a piece that left one of her breasts exposed, with a nipple cover on, for the world to see. No one could have expected this to happen and there was no blurring of the nudity on screen.

This one halftime moment changed the yearly, family-friendly, large-scale event into something else, leaving the Federal Communications Commission flooded with over 200,000 complaints. This lead to CBS getting fined $550,000 for “public indecency” by the FCC, though the Supreme Court overturned the fines in a 2012 decision.

For the artists involved, bad publicity is what they were met with after the infamous moment. It’s been rumored that it was all a failed publicity stunt, but Jackson’s always said that she and Timberlake added the spectacle into their performance after their finale rehearsal. She was supposed to be wearing a red lace bra underneath, but it reportedly slipped out of place, thus leaving her exposed.

While both Timberlake and Jackson were involved, he was able to perform at the Grammys the following week, while she was banned. In the aftermath, most of the blame fell on her, which she spoke to Oprah Winfrey about in 2006.

“I think they did put all the emphasis on me, as opposed to us,” Jackson told Winfrey.

It’s been 14 years since the event occurred, but the announcement of Timberlake’s return to the Super Bowl halftime stage reignited the talk of the 2004 controversy and sparked a new one. There was outrage over the fact that Timberlake was invited to perform once again, while Jackson’s still treated as an outcast by those involved with the Super Bowl.

This leaves many to wonder about the contents of his 2018 show. Fans are not just wondering if the boy band alum will reunite with ‘NSYNC on stage, but, more importantly, if he’ll mention his 2004 controversy. Or if there will be another surprise Jackson appearance, this time to performing “Rock Your Body” the way it was supposedly meant to be seen.

Find out during Super Bowl LII when it airs Sunday on CBS at 6:30 p.m. EST.