Janet Jackson

[kostgard]

I wonder if perhaps Joe and Katherine are related, or something, because all their kids have turned out to be batshit insane plastic surgery freaks.

I think the Jackson family problem comes from messed up, abusive parents, then thrusting them into a lifestyle at a young age where no one tells them "no" and no one makes them take responsibility for their actions.

[carrier76]

And the only reason for the backlash is because she was an older woman, and it's fun for the press to hang older women out to dry. I think they're just angry that she didn't curl up in a ball and die over it.

On the contrary; if Bint had done this I think the backlash would have been just as severe.

However, if Madonna had, it would not have. That's just my opinion.

[kostgard]

I agree that it had to do with Janet's reputation. I think America as a whole still thinks of Janet as "Rhythm Nation" Janet just like a lot of people have a hard time letting go of the "Thriller" version of Michael Jackson. They still think of Janet as sweet and innocent, so her flashing a boob was shocking. If Madonna or Courtney Love had done it, people would have just rolled their eyes.

I also think Brit would have been hit with backlash if she did it because America as a whole still thinks of her as that sweet gal from Louisiana in the school girl uniform.

[rattlerbrat]

Courtney DID flash a boob that same year, didn't she? On some show or in concert or something? I saw it in a newspaper - some guy was sucking on it.

[duskwolf]

On the other hand, Courtney is more regarded as closer to batshit crazy...she's been on drugs, was embroiled in the mess that was her husband's suicide (my opinions on which will not be aired here), and quite frankly, if she did, people kind of expect that sort of thing from batshit crazy. She was towing that line for a very, very long time, and was even a stripper at one point in her life.

Janet, while getting a little too kinky for many peoples' tastes, never stepped over the boundary into downright against-the-rules (again, my opinions on that will not air here), like her show at the Super Bowl, and event, which, in and of itself, got more air than Courtney Love could ever possibly dream of. So, we really have to consider levels of crazy and grand-scale-of-things.

Not that it excuses either one, in my mind. I'm just sayin' why it isn't an outrage when Courtney does it.

[kostgard]

Yeah she did - outside of a Wendy's in New York, I believe. Klassy. But that is the thing - no one raked her across the coals for it because people expect it from her. People expect better from Janet.

And that's what really got me about the Superbowl fiasco. Pulling a stunt like that was really beneath her, and that's why I lost respect for her. I would say that I lost more respect for Timberlake for the way he completely washed his hands of the incident and let Janet take the fall, but I never liked him anyway, so I felt that was pretty typical of him.

[Deleted]

I agree that it had to do with Janet's reputation. I think America as a whole still thinks of Janet as "Rhythm Nation" Janet just like a lot of people have a hard time letting go of the "Thriller" version of Michael Jackson. They still think of Janet as sweet and innocent, so her flashing a boob was shocking. If Madonna or Courtney Love had done it, people would have just rolled their eyes.

I disagree.

Before Nipplegate, she had been everywhere telling us how sexual she was. She told Oprah about her genital piercings. She told Oprah WHY she has genital piercings. She told us about her fantasies. I have heard her on a number of shows, including one done here in Toronto (Much Music), where she told us about her sexual adventures. All this before she showed us her boob. I wasn't surprised. We get it Janet. You like sex.

[rattlerbrat]

kostgard said:

And that's what really got me about the Superbowl fiasco. Pulling a stunt like that was really beneath her, and that's why I lost respect for her.

Even for those who believe it was all a "stunt", why would Janet do it? What did she have to gain? The press tried to make it sound like Jan's career was in the toilet and she was "desperate", but that's untrue. Her last album, "All For You" went triple platinum and the #1 single "All For You" was the longest #1 running single of that year - a whopping seven weeks. The "Damita Jo" album was only half complete at the time and the album release date wasn't for another 6 weeks or so. And all of the buzz around it was nothing but positive. So what would Janet gain from such publicity? She's been a professional performer for over 30 years, and the woman knows the business inside and out. And people think she would throw all that away for a titty flash?

Best thing about the whole thing was exposing America's hypocrisy and having other countries point and laugh at us. That was classic. Anyone read "Fear of a Black Titty"?

[duskwolf]

Exactly. What DID she have to gain?

Assume for the moment that she DID know what she was doing.

She gained publicity in a time where sexuality = empowerment. Perhaps she might have thought that the public, her fans, would gather around her and shout out loud that "she was just expressing herself, what's wrong with that?"

She caused controversy in a time when her brother is being charged with child molestation. She's rich and powerful enough to distract people from the news of what's wrong with her brother.

She maybe thought that it was, in fact, just a breast, and people should just lighten up.

She maybe thought that people's standards have lowered to the point where this might be acceptable.

In other words, perhaps, while there might have been nothing to gain, there might have been nothing to lose, also.

She thought that maybe her ability to sell albums in light of her getting older, and not being able to compete with younger counterparts, a little controversy would be just the thing to help with the sales of her album (a la Paris Hilton's sex tape).

Now remember, she's famous. Her grip on reality might be just a little more distorted than your average person. She's part of an industry when now, more than ever, image is everything and sex sells. She spent the last few years instilling with the public that she was sex-crazy creature.

The thing that, I think, makes it impossible for me to believe that it was an accident was how apologetic she was after the incident. The weak little tone she adopted in her public apology was not that of someone brazen in her own sexuality. She didn't sound committed to it, despite so many attempts to be committed to it in the public eye of the last few years. She was so unapologetic about being sexual. Now, suddenly, she's a little girl who's been slapped on the wrist. If it was an accident, she wouldn't have shrunk so small before the public eye.

I know I said I wouldn't bother with my opinion, but I figure, what the hell. This time, I'll say no more about it.

[rattlerbrat]

DuskWolf said:

She gained publicity in a time where sexuality = empowerment.

Sure. When you're a man.

She caused controversy in a time when her brother is being charged with child molestation. She's rich and powerful enough to distract people from the news of what's wrong with her brother.

Now that, I can believe. In fact, I'd believe that waaaaay before I'd ever believe some idea that Janet came up with this brilliant idea to flash her titty for 1/2 a second to gain publicity that she didn't even need. But it only makes me love Janet more - that she would take the fall to defend her big brother (whom God knows doesn't need it).

She spent the last few years instilling with the public that she was sex-crazy creature...The thing that, I think, makes it impossible for me to believe that it was an accident was how apologetic she was after the incident.

So she was TOO apologetic? Maybe she was truly embarrassed by the fallout - be it an accident or planned down to the letter. Hell, Janet was right when she said she never should've apologized to begin with. You had people saying she wasn't doing enough, and now we've got the "she apologized too much". Damned if she did and damned if she didn't - and that's pretty much the way the whole thing went.

Janet's biggest crime, IMO, was being a Jackson and either having a terrible thing go wrong or making a stupid lapse of judgement. I don't believe that the backlash would've been identical to say, Britney Spears especially if a black rapper had done the ripping.