Justin Timberlake, the singer who masterminded the Super Bowl wardrobe debacle that nearly destroyed Janet Jackson’s career and then left her hanging, will appear in Jackson’s documentary that premieres on Lifetime and A&E on Friday, Jan. 28. 2021.
“Justin is in it. I was told he is going to be in the documentary. It’s like this big secret. He’s the surprise, just like the Super Bowl,” Page Six reports from a source.
Jackson’s four-part docu-series will also celebrate the 40 years since her debut album in 1982, though her career skyrocketed after the classic Control dropped in 1986. In addition to Timberlake, a myriad of A-list entertainers including Samuel L. Jackson, Teyana Taylor, Whoopi Goldberg, Q-Tip, Mariah Carey, Missy Elliott, Ciara, Paula Abdul, and more will appear in the series.
But Timberlake, described as a toxic presence in the lives of both Jackson and fellow superstar Britney Spears, has garnered widespread attention.
Timberlake reportedly wanted to outdo Spears, who made worldwide headlines when Madonna kissed her and Christina Aguilera at the MTV Video Music Awards in 2003. Wardrobe guru Wayne Scot Lukas said the 2004 Super Bowl stunt was Timberlake’s brainchild.
“Janet was going to be in a Rocha dress, and [Justin] was going to step on the back of her dress to reveal her butt in this pearl G-string,” Lukas told Page Six. But “the outfit changed a couple of days before, and you saw the magic.
“I wouldn’t call it a wardrobe ‘malfunction’ in a million years. It was the most functioning wardrobe in history.”
When Timberlake ripped open the top of Jackson’s outfit, briefly exposing her breast, her career crashed immediately. Timberlake later admitted that he ran for cover, leaving Jackson to fend for herself.
