Janet Jackson's Bust-Out Performance
When Sporting Events Become Peep Shows
By Buck Wolf
Feb. 3
When it comes to professional sports, Janet Jackson isn't the first female entertainer to lose her shirt, and, of course, that has nothing to do with gambling.
At any celebrity awards show, you can expect to see a wayward breast. Just last week, Nicole Kidman nearly gave new meaning to the Golden Globe awards when she showed up in a plunging gold-sequined gown that she had trouble harnessing. Nearly everyone on the red carpet got a glimpse of her cold mountains.
Over-the-top cleavage, of course, is nothing new. Who could forget a few years ago at the same show when Courtney Love's gold taffeta gown kept falling down, even as she handed out the award to Phil Collins for best original song?
Hugh Grant, who sat near Love, told British reporters that he was especially flustered. "I had Courtney Love's left bosom out of her dress on my plate in front of me," he said. "It was extraordinary. I didn't know where to look."
The frock-y horror shows of Minnie Driver, Elizabeth Hurley and Gwyneth Paltrow have been well documented in the media in recent years, as they, too, have let it all hang out, accidentally.
But with the way stars dress today, how do we really distinguish an accident from contemporary style? And are we really going to let celebrity fashion take over sports, as if it were just another awards show?
On Monday, Jackson apologized for the breast-baring incident, describing it as a last-minute stunt that went awry.
"The decision to have a costume reveal at the end of my halftime show performance was made after final rehearsals," Jackson said. "MTV was completely unaware of it.
"It was not my intention that it go as far as it did. I apologize to anyone offended including the audience, MTV, CBS and the NFL."
Now, as we're left to consider what fallout will result from Janet's fallout, here's a look at three of the sports world's most inadvertent peep shows: