The Tool Desk
Outbyte Driver Updater FREEFix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitchesFind Drivers →Outbyte PC Repair FREEClear out junk files and repair common Windows errorsFree Scan →Ten years after Super Bowl XXXVIII, the central facts were clear: during the halftime-show finale on February 1, 2004, Justin Timberlake pulled away part of Janet Jackson’s bustier, briefly exposing her breast on the CBS broadcast. The Federal Communications Commission later fined CBS $550,000; federal court proceedings ultimately overturned that penalty.
What happened during the halftime show?
CBS aired Super Bowl XXXVIII on February 1, 2004, and MTV Networks produced its halftime show. Janet Jackson headlined the live performance; Justin Timberlake joined her as a surprise guest near the end. During the musical finale, Timberlake pulled away part of Jackson’s bustier, briefly exposing her breast to television viewers. The episode became widely known as a “wardrobe malfunction,” a public shorthand that does not itself establish whether the exposure was intentional.
The FCC’s 2006 record says the game averaged 89.8 million viewers during the 2003–2004 television season. That figure describes the game’s average audience, not a separate count of people watching the brief exposure. FCC record reproduced in the Justice Department’s petition.
How did CBS and Jackson respond?
A contemporaneous CBS News report carried by the Associated Press said Jackson apologized after the incident. CBS chief executive Leslie Moonves publicly expressed shock, disappointment, and dismay. CBS News/AP report.
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In the FCC proceedings, CBS argued that the exposure was accidental and that it had no advance notice of a plan to depart from the script. The Commission rejected CBS’s legal arguments. Those positions should be kept distinct: the FCC’s order records the agency’s regulatory assessment, while CBS’s account was its argument in the dispute. The legal record cited here does not settle every participant’s intent.
Why did the FCC fine CBS?
On March 15, 2006, the FCC issued a forfeiture order imposing $550,000 against CBS. The proposed calculation was $27,500 for each of 20 CBS stations. FCC forfeiture order and procedural account.
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The agency assessed the broadcast in context rather than treating the length of the exposure as decisive by itself. It considered the image’s clarity, the surrounding sexualized performance, and the fact that the exposure was brief. The FCC acknowledged its fleeting nature but concluded that brevity did not determine the outcome. In the order, the Commission stated: “Clearly, the nudity in this context was pandering, titillating and shocking to the viewing audience.” That was the FCC’s judgment under its indecency rules, not an uncontested finding about what the performers intended. FCC order quoted in the Justice Department’s petition.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Was the $550,000 fine upheld?
No. The FCC imposed the forfeiture in 2006, but the Third Circuit later overturned it. The Supreme Court then vacated and remanded the appellate judgment in FCC v. CBS Corp. The resulting court history means the FCC’s penalty did not remain in force; the 2006 order should not be mistaken for the final legal outcome. Justice Department account of the appellate and Supreme Court proceedings.
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