Janet Jackson’s wardrobe malfunction during her Super Bowl XXXVIII halftime show caused quite the stir in 2004. The controversial performance mishap featuring Jackson and Justin Timberlake generated endless discussion, and recently-retired NFL quarterback Tom Brady (who famously won that game) offered a surprising take on the incident, looking back at it 19 years later.
During a recent episode of his Let's Go! podcast, Brady offered an eye-opening take on the Jackson controversy, suggesting it was actually good thing for the NFL due to the increased publicity surrounding the Super Bowl halftime show.
Via the New York Post, Brady admitted that he and the rest of his teammates were too focused on the Patriots' Super Bowl clash vs. the Panthers to watch the halftime show, so they were unaware of what had transpired on the field during the intermission.
“They were asking me about that, and I couldn’t even understand what they were telling me about,” Brady said. “They were like, ‘Did you see the halftime show?’ and I said, ‘Nah, I didn’t see anything.’ I was thinking about the game and was trying to figure out halftime adjustments.”
While New England and Carolina reviewed their first half and made some halftime adjustments, Jackson and Timberlake were making controversy on the field.
The Super Bowl XXXVIII halftime show took place at NRG Stadium in Houston, TX, and while everyone will remember the Patriots hoisting the Lombardi Trophy, it was Jackson’s halftime show that left the most headlines—and controversy—in its wake.
“I think, in the end, it was probably a good thing for the NFL because everyone got to talk about it, and it was just more publicity and more publicity for halftime shows,” Brady said.
In hindsight, Brady thinks the ordeal ended up benefitting the NFL. Halftime shows generate plenty of fanfare, and as the 45-year-old mentioned, the publicity the league gained, whether positive or negative, was impactful in the grand scheme of things.
