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Janet Jackson suffered one of the most infamous wardrobe malfunctions in history during her 2004 Super Bowl halftime show performance with Justin Timberlake. Now, the pop star has revealed she had a second mishap, this time in front of the late Queen Elizabeth II.
Twenty years ago, Jackson was the subject of the notorious “nipplegate” row when Timberlake tore a section of her costume during their show, accidentally exposing her breast.
The moment sparked a furore and led to Jackson’s music being blacklisted on many radios and music channels around the world; Timberlake, who at the time emerged relatively unscathed, has since come under scrutiny over his involvement.
In a recent interview with British Vogue, Jackson divulged an amusing anecdote about her iconic “Rhythm Nation” outfit, which apparently let her down while she was performing for the Queen.
“I was performing for the Queen of England and we were doing ‘Rhythm Nation’,” she recalled. “Sure enough, as soon as I squatted, my pants split right in my booty crack.
“I couldn’t believe it happened,” she continued. “I thought, ‘Oh my God!’”
Jackson said she was immediately aware that her outfit was damaged as she felt “air back there” from the split in her trousers. She was then forced to adjust her performance while being watched by the British monarch.
“So I never turned my back to her, which some of the choreography was supposed to,” she said. “I just faced forward.”
In the same interview, Jackson reflected on some of her most famous looks over the years, and making the “Scream” music video with her late brother, Michael Jackson.
The singer told the BBC in July that she still gets emotional performing “Scream” during her solo tours. She and Michael released the track in 1995.
The single from Michael’s ninth album, HIStory: PAst, Present and Future, Book I, was written as a retaliation against the media’s coverage of the child sexual abuse allegations made against him in 1993. He was not convicted and settled the case out of court.
Lyrics include the lines: “I’m tired of injustice, I’m tired of the schemes/ Your lies are disgusting/ So, what does it mean, damn it?/ Kickin’ me down, I got to get up/ As jacked as it sounds/ The whole system sucks, damn it.”
Janet Jackson has been performing the song as part of her setlist for her Together Again world tour, which reaches the UK in September this year. On stage, she duets with footage of her late brother.
Speaking to the BBC, the US star admitted it was still emotional “listening to [Michael] every night, seeing him, remembering us”.
“Mike and I wrote that song in New York, in his apartment,” she recalled. “So [I relive] that whole journey, listening to him sing it [and remembering] what he was going through at that time.
“And just me being his little sister, always by his side, and being that support system. That’s always been my role.”
