Janet gets Grammy ban after going over the top

JANET JACKSON has been banned from the Grammy Awards on Sunday in the wake of her revealing Super Bowl performance, it was reported yesterday.

Her publicist said she was unlikely to attend, while the entertainment show Access Hollywood said the invitation had been withdrawn.

Meanwhile, Justin Timberlake, who was also at the centre of the Super Bowl controversy, said his family was among those offended by the spectacle.

The pair’s act caused an outcry when Timberlake tugged at her top, tearing it and revealing her right breast.

Both stars insist the intention was to reveal a red bustier beneath her top, but the stunt went “too far”.

She said in a televised apology: “I am really sorry if I offended anyone. That was truly not my intention.” Ms Jackson was scheduled to introduce the Luther Vandross Tribute at the Grammys, but American TV network CBS, which also broadcast the Super Bowl, reportedly cancelled the invitation.

“We don’t think she’s going to go,” said her publicist Steven Huvane.

CBS faces potential fines running into millions of pounds from America’s broadcasting watchdog, which has launched an investigation into the Super Bowl incident.

Timberlake broke his silence on the controversy, saying that he understood “how unfortunate this is”.

“I do understand that there were a lot of people that were completely offended by what happened, including my own family,” he told KCBS-TV.

“It’s completely, completely, completely, regrettable,” he said speaking outside the Staples Center in Los Angeles, where he was rehearsing for the Grammys.

Timberlake said he received a call before the show from Jackson and her choreographer saying they wanted to do a “costume reveal”. “Now I was under the impression that what was going to be revealed in the costume reveal was a red brassiere, bustier.”

The singer said he didn’t have time to rehearse it before taking the stage and was stunned by the outcome.

“I mean I was completely shocked and appalled, and all I could say was ’Oh my God, Oh my God’,” he said.

As a result of the controversy, CBS said it would air the Grammy Awards with a broadcast delay of up to five minutes, so producers can edit out risqué moments.

ABC may implement a five-second delay when it broadcasts the Academy Awards, at the end of the month.