In an upcoming “tell-all” documentary series scheduled to debut on Apple TV in December, Janet Jackson and Justin Timberlake will reportedly discuss her infamous 2004 wardrobe malfunction during the Super Bowl halftime show.
However, according to Jackson’s former outfit designer Wayne Scot Lukas, what had previously been described as a wardrobe malfunction that left the singer’s breast exposed in front of millions watching was exactly the opposite.
Lukas told TMZ in an interview this week that he purposely designed Jackson’s Super Bowl ensemble so that Timberlake could expose his co-performer’s breast, which, Lukas says, was planned by Jackson’s choreographer, Gill, prior to them taking the stage.
“I’m the only one who really knows what happened, because I designed the outfit, made the outfit, and changed the outfit two days before the actual production,” Lukas said. “I know all the stories and all the secrets, and I know where the bodies are buried.”
Lukas went on to say that the idea for Timberlake to remove Jackson’s chest covering was motivated by wanting to upstage a 2003 moment on MTV, when artists Britney Spears, Madonna and Christina Aguilera kissed in front of Timberlake.
MTV was in charge of producing the 2004 halftime show that was headlined by Jackson and Timberlake. Sean “Diddy” Combs, Nelly, Jessica Simpson, and Kid Rock also appeared as guest performers.
The camera was supposed to cut away and the stage was supposed to go dark after Timberlake ripped away the part of Jackson’s top that was covering her right nipple. Jackson was also supposed to quickly use her own hands to cover her exposed breast, but, according to her former fashion designer, none of these processes played out as planned.
“It is the most functioning wardrobe in history,” Lukas said. “It did exactly what it was supposed to do. The biggest mistake was the producers at MTV did not cut to black when they were supposed to, and they kind of left Janet out hanging. So the people I would blame are the MTV producers.”
“It was supposed to be, ‘Have you naked by the end of this song,’ rip, [Janet grabs her own chest to cover her breast], cut to black, fireworks,” Lukas added. “[Instead it was] rip, she didn’t grab, they didn’t cut to black because they were partying in the [production] van, and the fireworks came later and Janet just stood there with her bouncing breasts.”
Lukas later clarified that his claim that MTV production staffers missed the cue to cut to black because they were partying in the van was a speculative allegation, and he does not know the true reason the screen did not go black.
In the aftermath of Jackson’s breast being exposed during the live performance she apologized, but her music videos and singles were blacklisted by MTV and CBS chief Les Moonves, according to Page Six. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) also opened an investigation into the incident after receiving over 500,000 complaints from viewers.
“It was not my intention that it go as far as it did,” Jackson said in 2004, adding that the decision to have a costume reveal toward the end of their performance was made after final rehearsals. “MTV, CBS [and] the NFL had no knowledge of this whatsoever and, unfortunately, the whole thing went wrong in the end.”
During a two-part Lifetime documentary released in 2022, Jackson said that the Super Bowl incident was blown out of proportion and called on people to stop looking for someone to blame for what happened. She also said at the time that she and Timberlake forgave each other and remained good friends.
For Lukas, though, the controversy surrounding the Super Bowl performance had a lingering effect on his employment opportunities.
“He never made up with any of us,” Lukas told TMZ about Timberlake. “We all lost a lot of work. I had moral clauses in my contract. I was losing jobs. I had to stay quiet for my friend Janet — and I did.”
It is unclear how Jackson and Timberlake will choose to address their Super Bowl mishap when the Apple TV docuseries is released next month, but one thing is certain: Lukas will not be involved.
“I was shocked when I saw the news [about the documentary]. I couldn’t believe it, dumbfounded actually,” Lukas said. “[Timberlake] coined the term ‘wardrobe malfunction,’ which blamed it on me.”
“When I read the news about this documentary, nobody asked me to be in it,” Lukas continued. “Nobody asked me to speak about it.”
