CBS ‘sorry’ for dance boob as Janet exposes breast at Bowl

CBS TV apologised yesterday for an unexpectedly X-rated end to its Super Bowl half-time show, when singer Justin Timberlake tore off part of Janet Jackson’s top, exposing her breast.

“CBS deeply regrets the incident,” spokeswoman Leslie Anne Wade said after the network received a flurry of calls about the show.

Jackson turned heads during the half-time appearance with Timberlake during the Carolina Panthers-New England Patriots game, bumping and grinding through a duet.

The two singers were performing a flirtatious duet to end the show, and at the song’s finish, Timberlake reached across Jackson’s leather gladiator outfit and pulled off the covering to her right breast.

The network quickly cut away from the shot, and did not mention the incident on the air.

Stage lights at Houston’s Reliant Stadium then went black, leaving millions of football fans wondering what had happened.

Timberlake said he did not intend to expose Jackson’s breast.

“I am sorry that anyone was offended by the wardrobe malfunction during the half-time performance of the Super Bowl,” he said in a statement. “It was not intentional and is regrettable.”

Wade said CBS officials attended rehearsals of the half-time show all week, “and there was no indication any such thing would happen”.

“The moment did not conform to CBS’s broadcast standards and we would like to apologise to anyone who was offended,” she added.

The Super Bowl American Football half-time show, which also featured P Diddy, Nelly and Kid Rock, was produced by MTV, CBS’s corporate cousin in Viacom.

“We were extremely disappointed by elements of the MTV-produced halftime show,” Joe Browne, NFL executive vice president, said. “They were totally inconsistent with assurances our office was given about the content of the show. It’s unlikely that MTV will produce another Super Bowl half-time.”

MTV issued a statement, saying the incident was “unrehearsed, unplanned, completely unintentional”.

But some viewers may not be convinced that the two singers were not raising the threshold on shocking behaviour, mindful of how pop icon Madonna and Britney Spears grabbed headlines with a kiss during the MTV Music Video Awards in August.

“Shocking as it was, it was not a mistake. It’s really sad. How are we going to up the ante next?” said Barbara Lippert, advertising critic at trade report AdWeek.

In another public display, a streaker held up the game for several minutes before the second-half kick-off.