Janet Jackson’s 2004 Super Bowl “wardrobe malfunction” was no accident, according to her longtime designer.
Jackson’s right breast was famously exposed to millions of football fans when fellow performer Justin Timberlake pulled back a bustier, and with it, an undergarment the Nasty singer was wearing.
Her management team insisted that wasn’t supposed to happen. Jackson said the performance wasn’t what she expected.
But her designer Wayne Scot Lukas said the outfit did exactly what it was made to do, according to TMZ.
Lukas said a change to the outfit was decided on when those involved with the Super Bowl XXXVIII performance in Texas concluded the halftime show needed an edge.
He told TMZ the cameras were supposed to cut away at the last second, but that didn’t happen. Producers originally wanted something that would show off her rear-end, he recalled.
Lukas said that alleged stunt hurt his career. Jackson was also largely shunned for the supposed mishap.
Outlets including MTV and VH1, which were affiliated with CBS, where the incident known as “Nipplegate” aired, pulled her music videos out of their rotation, The Huffington Post reported.
A documentary series about Timberlake is scheduled to screen on AppleTV+ in December. Lukas said he wasn’t asked to contribute to that project, even though Timberland’s infamous halftime show is one of the subjects covered in the programme.
Lukas’s fashion portfolio also includes work with Tina Turner, Barry Manilow, Reba McEntire and Cindy Crawford. – New York Daily News/Tribune News Service
