Michael and Janet Jackson may have once been two of the biggest stars in the world, but their relationship had its challenges. So when Janet's Super Bowl scandal blew up, Michael didn't hold back on what he really thought.
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00:00Michael and Janet Jackson may have once been two of the biggest stars in the world,
00:03but their relationship had its challenges. So when Janet's Super Bowl scandal blew up,
00:07Michael didn't hold back on what he really thought.
00:09In 2004, Janet Jackson headlined the Super Bowl halftime show, which featured a guest
00:14appearance from Justin Timberlake. However, it became notorious after a so-called wardrobe
00:18malfunction saw Timberlake tear Janet's costume to reveal her right breast, sparking a major
00:22backlash. Janet was forced to apologize continuously in the months following,
00:26and it remained a major talking point in the mainstream media. Of course,
00:30her big brother Michael was himself no stranger to controversy,
00:33and he thought the incident was overblown. Michael claimed to have been watching the
00:36event at the home of a friend when the incident occurred. Despite watching it live on a huge TV,
00:40he says he was unaware that any wardrobe malfunction had taken place until news
00:44reports the next day alerted him to the Fuhrer. He told Geraldo Rivera in a 2005 interview on Fox News,
00:51"'Actually, I was looking right at it, and I didn't see it."
00:53Janet and Michael Jackson's habit of standing up for each other in turbulent times wasn't
00:57unprecedented. In fact, it had previously been the basis of a commercial and critical
01:01high point in both artists' careers. In 1995, Michael's career had been sullied by years of
01:06what he considered intrusive tabloid press attention, which had increased in 1993 when
01:11he faced sexual abuse allegations.
01:13"'I am totally innocent of any wrongdoing,
01:16and I know these terrible allegations will all be proven false.'"
01:20Though the case was settled out of court and no criminal charges were filed,
01:24Michael remained embittered by his press treatment, which seeped into his music.
01:27His hit single, Scream, the first to debut in the Hot 100 Top 5, was accompanied by a
01:32memorable space-age music video that featured zero gravity effects and slow motion. Most notably,
01:37it featured Janet and Michael smashing objects and spitting venom about the
01:40injustice and schemes of those who had damaged his reputation. Janet said in a 2022 documentary,
01:46"'It was his song,
01:50and I was there to support him.'"
01:52Though footage from their writing sessions shows the siblings seemingly having a fun
01:55time together as they pen a future classic, Janet says the reality of creating Scream
01:59was actually quite different. While the shooting schedule for the big-budget video ballooned,
02:04the label also seemed eager to draw out the competitiveness of the two performers.
02:08She said in the documentary,
02:09"'I wanted it to feel like old times, between he and I, and it didn't.'"
02:15Despite feeling as though the press had thrown him under the bus a decade earlier,
02:19Michael refused to link his own experiences to Janet's in his interview with Bravera.
02:23He also avoided speculating on whether his sister's association with him worsened her
02:27treatment in the media in regards to her Super Bowl scandal. In his interview,
02:30Michael also revealed that he gave Janet some words of advice after the incident. He told his sister,
02:35"'Be strong. This, too, shall pass. Don't worry about it. You know, I've seen worse things.'"