Bryan Bedder/Getty
Janet Jackson.
- Janet Jackson said she will not be performing with Justin Timberlake during this year's Super Bowl halftime show.
- She shut any rumors of a reunion down in a tweet.
- Timberlake is returning to the halftime show 14 years after a "wardrobe mulfunction" with Jackson caused a national controversy.
Janet Jackson wants to make it crystal clear: She will not be joining Justin Timberlake during this year's Super Bowl halftime show.
The pop icon said in a tweet on Saturday night that she would "put to rest any speculation or rumors" as to whether she will be performing at the Super Bowl between the Philadelphia Eagles and the New England Patriots in Minnesota on Sunday: "I will not."
She thanked her fans for their support and said she looks forward to seeing them very soon.
Timberlake is returning to the halftime show 14 years after a wardrobe malfunction with Jackson caused a national controversy known as "Nipplegate."
At Super Bowl XXXVIII, Timberlake swiped off a breastplate on Jackson's costume, leaving her nipple exposed for nine-sixteenths of a second.
The Federal Communications Commission assailed the event as a "celebration was tainted by a classless, crass, and deplorable stunt."
Donald Miralle/Getty
Janet Jackson and Justin Timberlake perform during the halftime show at Super Bowl XXXVIII.
Congress later passed a bill that increased fines for "indecency" on television more than tenfold. The FCC began a campaign of censoring media over "public indecency."
Jackson's career took a nosedive while Timberlake went on to find greater success.
Ahead of Timberlake's upcoming performance at Super Bowl LII, Jackson's family said they still haven't forgiven Timberlake for the incident. Jackson's father, Joseph Jackson, offered an idea for how Timberlake could make it up to his daughter: invite her to share the stage.
"If he's such a gentleman, he'd make sure Janet is there," Jackson's father Joseph Jackson told the New York Post.
Since it was announced that Timberlake would headline the halftime show for the third time in his career, the hashtag #JusticeForJanet began trending on Twitter. Fans called out the privilege suggested by Timberlake being asked to perform again, while Jackson was not.
- Janet Jackson (@JanetJackson) February 4, 2018Oh, the Superbowl, the Superbowl, it's just inescapable. So, how about some #JusticeforJanet, while we're talking about #SuperBowlLII ? Fourteen years is a a long time to wait for a real apology and a long time for a talented woman to be out in the cold.
- Bette Midler (@BetteMidler) February 3, 2018There are a million reasons why I won't be tuning into the Super Bowl Halftime Show tomorrow but #JusticeForJanet is at the top of the list.
- Patrick Crowley (@pcrowl) February 4, 2018I'll be celebrating #JanetJacksonAppreciationDay ❤️
- Kim Sherrell (@kim) February 4, 2018