Everything we know about the NYT Janet Jackson Super Bowl doc

The mercury outside may be dropping, but indoors, screens across North America are about to fire up now that the anticipated Janet Jackson Super Bowl doc is only a few weeks away. As you pour yourselves another cup of tea and hunker down under those knitted blankets, here’s everything we know about the in-depth project.

When does it drop?

Malfunction: The Dressing Down of Janet Jackson drops November 19 on Hulu and FX in the States. The appropriately named documentary hails from the same folks behind the Framing Britney Spears and Controlling Britney Spears documentaries, and falls under The New York Times Presents banner.

This is the series’ first season, and so far it has also tackled subjects like vaping, influencers, the Australian wild fires, the killing of Breonna Taylor and the coronavirus.

In Canada, we can confirm that you can catch the documentary when it debuts the same day on Crave. And in case you missed them, the streaming service is also the Canadian home to both NYT Britney Spears documentaries.

What was the Super Bowl halftime controversy, in a nutshell?

Most of us either directly remember or have since read about the 2004 Super Bowl halftime show, when Justin Timberlake exposed Janet Jackson’s (partially covered) breast for 9/16ths of a second during their performance of “Rock Your Body.” The stunt coincided with the lyric, “Have you naked by the end of this song.”

What happened next was a misogynistic steamrolling that resulted in Jackson’s career falling fast and never truly recovering. There was a $550K fine from the Federal Communications Commission (later rejected in court), and CBS boss Les Moonves (who has since shown his true colours) banned Jackson from the Grammys.

Meanwhile, more than 200,000 people complained to the FCC, and the NFL said MTV (which had produced the show) would never do another halftime show. So MTV took that out on Jackson, too. All of her music videos and songs were banned from any subsidy of MTV parent company Viacom, which also owns properties like VH1.

As for Timberlake? He failed to stand up for Jackson. He tearfully apologized for the entire situation and came up with the term “wardrobe malfunction” but his career took off without issue and didn't hit any of the roadblocks that Jackson suffered.

So what will this new documentary cover?

In a press release issued this week, FX and Hulu promise the doc will explore the racial and cultural currents that went down on that Super Bowl stage, and how it all impacted Jackson—one of the most successful popstars in the history of music.

“[It] features rare footage and interviews with several people who were at the controls that night in Houston—including NFL and MTV executives—to reconstruct an incident that shook the country and explain how it shaped culture in the decades to follow,” reads the release.

“With new reporting by The Times, as well as insights from music industry insiders, cultural critics and members of the Jackson family, the film illuminates the extraordinary fallout, and CBS executive Les Moonves's role in it.”

Who are the filmmakers?

Malfunction: The Dressing Down of Janet Jackson is directed and produced by Jodi Gomes, who also headed up the 2009, six-part TV event, The Jacksons: A Family Dynasty.

Gomes probably has pretty tight relationships with Jackie, Jermaine, Tito and Marlon Jackson, given that the project followed the men as they prepped for The Jackson Five reunion while coming to terms with Michael Jackson’s death. (Janet Jackson appears in two of the six episodes.)

Did the filmmakers actually interview Janet Jackson?

That is unclear, although given that the press release fails to mention a sit-down with Jackson herself (only “members of the Jackson family”), it seems unlikely. If she were participating, it seems like the Powers That Be would want to announce that, right?

Besides, Janet has been busy producing and starring in her own upcoming documentary. That four-part project coincides with the 40^th anniversary of her 1982 album, JANET. It’s said to cover everything from “nipplegate,” to her brother Michael Jackson’s death, to the popstar becoming a mother at the age of 50.

What about Justin Timberlake, is he in this?

Also unclear, although again—he isn’t mentioned as one of the talking heads in the release, so it’s unlikely that he sat down with Gomes for any fresh content. Odds are both he and Janet appear in the archive footage, though.

That’s not to say Timberlake hasn’t addressed the controversy and his part in Jackson’s career shake-up since that time in his life. Following the debut of Framing Britney Spears, the singer finally owned up to his past mistakes and apologized to the women whose careers, and reputations, suffered while his thrived.

“I’ve seen the messages, tags, comments, and concerns and I want to respond,” JT wrote on Instagram in February. “I am deeply sorry for the times in my life where my actions contributed to the problem, where I spoke out of turn, or did not speak up for what was right. I understand that I fell short in these moments and in many others and benefited from a system that condones misogyny and racism,” he continued.

“I specifically want to apologize to Britney Spears and Janet Jackson both individually, because I care for and respect these women and I know I failed.”

Heartfelt “I’m sorry” or 20 years too late? You be the judge.

In the meantime, Malfunction: The Dressing Down of Janet Jackson drops November 19 on Crave.

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