Just to change the discussion du jour from the snowballing Clarke/Bush/Rice controversy…
In his blog entry for 3/23/2004, author Peter David talks about a portion of his weekly newsletter column that got snipped without him knowing about it. The essay of the week was about censorship and Howard Stern, but the portion that got axed drifts over to the Janet Jackson/Justin Timberlake halftime show bru-ha-ha, and raises an (IMO, anyway) interesting theory:
So, what say you, fellow Dopers? If the Superbowl halftime scandal involved a black male celebrity ripping a blouse off a white female celebrity, would the ensuing outrage be the same as what we got? Or would most folks be hurling brickabats at the black guy glamorizing sexual assault on a white woman?
Justin Timberlake had far less comment thrown against him than did Janet Jackson, and her apology was demanded far more often than his. That says it all.
Well, it was Janet’s, not JT’s, nipple that caused all the controversy, and it seems the bulk of the public believes that it was her idea (implying that JT wasn’t clever enough to have thought this up on his own). So, if anything, sounds like empowerment of women of color, and the assumption that JT should get a greater share of the blame is borderline racist. Or something.
Actually, I prefer my thinking on the subject, which that the incident was of no great significance.
It was based on her nastiness – of all the hot women (the dancers, the cheerleaders) out there for the show we had to see her old, saggy breast. If it were Beyonce who did it I think there would have been far fewer complaints. The one time we get to see a bare breast on broadcast TV and it had to be hers (ugh).
Yes, if it had been Snoop-on-Christina Aguilera, the story would have been totally different. But keep in mind that there’s the race thing, but also the age difference.
Justin Timberlake totally removed himself from Janet’s shamelight. Despite the fact that he 1) was the one who said: “I’m going to get you naked by the end of this song” and 2) actually exposed the breast, he has managed to make himself the victim. It pissed a lot of people off, myself included. You can’t be risque one moment and then choirboy the next. Well, apparently he can.
I think that Janet was telling the truth–the leather bustier panel was supposed to come off, not the red camisole too. However, the fact that she was wearing her nipple jewelry like that made it look to me like she planned to expose the whole thing all along. I think that’s why people blamed her more initially.
Never thought of the race angle. Never heard it mentioned by anybody else. FWIW.
Racism may be playing a part here, but I can’t support David’s hypothesis that the American public would be shocked by a black woman “overtly displaying her sexuality”. (I also don’t see how exposing yourself at the Super Bowl is being aggressive about equality. It’s not like we see white women’s bare breasts at every other halftime show.) If anything, American pop culture has difficulty treating black women as anything other than 1) sex objects or 2) hired help. Or better yet, both.
It’s this racist idea that may be the real problem. Of course Janet Jackson is to blame, you know how those people are, with their animal-like sexual habits! But Justin Timberlake is a nice white boy, so it can’t be his fault.
Then again, Jackson may have attracted the lion’s share of the blame just because she’s far more famous than Timberlake.
I think that the race argument is just plain ludicrous. Since this is GD, let’s look at the possibilities. 1) They both knew what was going to happen. 2) Neither knew what was going to happen (wardrobe malfunction). 3) JJ knew, TL didn’t. 4) TL knew, JJ didn’t.
The line: “I’m going to have you naked by the end of this song.” was a song lyric. They both knew which song they’d be singing and both could’ve used this for whatever they might have had planned.
At the end of it all, JJ apologized and admitted that she planned the whole thing. TL, at first, claimed that it was a wardrobe malfunction. Now, why would he say this only to have JJ apologize and admit fault later? If it was planned by both, wouldn’t they have a consistent story?
Thus, I believe that she knew and he didn’t. So, clearly she deserves all of the blame and he doesn’t.
Of course, in the grand scheme of things, it shouldn’t have been a big deal. People could have just had a few quick words about it, and then forgot about it. But that’s not what happened, and perhaps people in this country should lighten up a little.
I agree, whole-heartedly. I think that some people are just quick to draw the race card. To these people I say: sometimes, a cigar is just a cigar.
How can you even claim something like this? I really do fail to see how it would have been any different. Last time I checked, a whole bunch of parents were complaining about Britney Spears being “too sexual”, and exposing a little too much skin. This leads me to think-- hey, race ain’t got nuthin’ to do with it.
Given the drivel that I read from him, if he is black he would seem to be in the same category as Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton, et al. Those who are professionally offended and feel it is in their financial best interest to foment discontent between the races.
If he is white, then he is apparently pretty far left and afflicted with the institutional white guilt that actually patronizes african americans instead of uplifting them.
No. But Luther Vandross would’ve certainly gotten an even better pass than T’lake. What’s your point? Snoop does “Girls Gone Wild” videos and consistently raps about “bitches and ho’s”. So, once again, the race argument is ludicrous.
I can kind of see where you’re coming from… but in response I would ask: “Do you think Eminem would have gotten the same pass that Justin Timberlake did?” I really (really) doubt it.
So maybe there’s an argument that revolves around former-boy-band members getting a little better “treatment” than rappers or something… but I’d say we’re really trying to make something out of nothing then.
I can’t agree. Going back to the possibility that they both planned it, but it blew up more than they expected. She blinked, he didn’t. I’d vote for stupid for both of them.
What does this mean? I know that JJ said this, but I don’t understand. Does she mean that her nipple wasn’t supposed to be exposed in that manner? If so, then it was indeed a wardrobe malfunction. If not, then did she think that the camera wouldn’t catch it? Because this would just be an error in judgment. But I’m just not clear what she meant by saying that it went further than they expected.
1.) I don’t think the outrage at Janet Jackson is race-based. I really think that a lot of people don’t think of Janet Jackson’s race at all, to tell you the truth.
2.) As to the question of whether things would be handled differently if Snoop Doggy Dogg had done it, that might have provoked a different response, and it might have had a racial component to it. I’m amazed that Timberelake got away as unscathed as he did, to tell the truth.
3.) In any case, there would have been an uproar no matter who did it. I can play with the casting as well – if Justin Timberlake had torn off the covering on Christine Aguilera, there still would have been an uproar, of that I have no doubt.
4.) This whole incident gave me an excuse for a new sig.
I spend my fair amount of time on IRC channels, forums, and other mediums where people are far more free with their words than they are in public/in real life - and I have never once heard anyone upset because she is black. I have heard, however, plenty upset because she is old and saggy, and many desires that she had done this when she was younger.
If anything, the question is not one of racial discrimination - it is one of sexual discrimination. The same public bias that allows a “loose” woman to be a “whore” and a “loose” man to be “normal.” Justin escaped notice not because he is white - he escaped notice because he is a man. In the public mind, it is Janet’s boobie and Janet’s problem.
Oh Evil One you have captured it beautifully. We are now living in the Age of the Whiner, when people stalk about in every walk of life eagerly searching for opportunities to be offended. If they don’t have any serious injustices to fight against, they’ll pick something completely harmless and rant about how racist it is. Ye gods people. Grow up. Get a sense of humor. Find a real cause to get wrapped up in.