A federal appeals court ruled on Monday that CBS should not
be held responsible for the event that took place at the 2004 edition of the
Super Bowl, when Justin Timberlake tore a piece of Janet Jackson's bustier
reveling a little bit more than what could be considered decent of the singer's
breast. The court declared that the Federal Communication Commission acted
“arbitrarily and capriciously” when imposing the fine.
After the 2004 incident, the FCC received more than 500,000
complaints from people who felt that the images were inappropriate for their
children to see. As a result, the commission ordered the broadcasting company
to pay a record indecency fine of $550,000. Even though CBS apologized publicly
to its audience, and payed the fines that were imposed on it, it also appealed
the decision in court.
The incident that took place 4 years ago at the Super Bowl
occurred during the halftime of the show. Asked to perform live at the event,
Justin Timberlake and Janet Jackson sang the 'Rock Your Body' song. At the end
of the performance, Justin Timberlake approached Janet Jackson and tore the
right half of her bustier, revealing her right breast. The images were soon all over
the Internet, as well as short clips of what happened.
The court said that the main reason for which CBS should not
be held responsible for the event is that the two singers were not part of the
company's staff and were merely contracted to sing at the show. What is more,
it seems that CBS and the two performers ran through the script of the show
several times, and did wardrobe checks without anything wrong happening until
then. Justin himself said that the whole thing was just a “wardrobe malfunction”
and that it wasn't supposed to happen the way it did.
According to the New York Times, the court explained
furthermore that CBS had no bad intentions, by stating that “CBS rejected other
potentially-controversial performers who had previously engaged in offensive
on-air conduct in favor of Jackson and Timberlake, with the NFL ultimately
approving the selections.”
Of course, the court's decision was hailed by the
broadcasting company, which said that the ruling benefits the whole industry,
because it acknowledges that live airings of certain shows when blocking
offensive material is practically impossible should not lead to broadcasting
companies being held responsible.
The decision raised complaints from advocacy groups such as
the Parents Television Council. According to E! Online, the group's president,
Tim Winter, said that "Once again, a three-judge panel has hijacked the
will of the American people. While we are not surprised that the legal venue
hand-picked by CBS would rule in favor of the network, the court's opinion goes
beyond judicial activism; it borders on judicial stupidity.”
The Super Bowl was watched in 2004 by about 90 million
persons, a large number of them being children. The famous “wardrobe malfunction”
incident led the Congress to increase the indecency fines paid by broadcasting
companies tenfold, the maximum penalty reaching $325, 000 today.
