Bashir Ali: CBS CEO Les Moonves Tried To Destroy Janet Jackson Over 2004 Super Bowl Nip Slip
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In a script that sounds familiar in the world of Trump, Weinstein and Ailes, both supporters and critics of embattled Chairman and CEO of CBS agree that he has an enemies list and holds a grudge for a long, long time.
Huff Po's Yashar Ali hit a brick wall when setting out to talk with industry insiders about one target of Moonves' "ire and vengefulness" -- Miss Janet Jackson. With Moonves tettering on being toppled at CBS over his own sexual harassment allegations and Jackson appearing in the October issue of October 2018, Ali walks readers through the history of a torrent of ferocity launched against Jackson after her infamous 'nip slip' incident at the 2004 Super Bowl.
In a global media moment with Jackson and Justin Timberlake, he ripped away the leather on Jackson's bustier with the intention of exposing red lace to 100 million adoring fans. Instead, Jackson's entire breast was exposed and Moonves apparently never recovered.
To this day, both Jackson and Timberlake insist the naked exposure was not a sensational ploy. Moonves disagrees and furthermore, believes that Jackson wasn't "sufficiently repentant, according to Ali's insiders.
Because Timberlake made a tearful apology for the incident, he performed at the 2004 Grammys broadcast airing on CBS the week after the Super Bowl. Jackson was banned.
"The fallout from the incident inflicted significant damage on Jackson’s career ― which until that point had produced 10 No. 1 hits ― and still reverberates to this day." according to Ali.
Moonves ordered Viacom properties VH1 and MTV, and all Viacom-owned radio stations, to stop playing Jackson’s songs and music videos. The move had a huge impact on sales of her album “Damita Jo,” which was released in March 2004, just a month after the Super Bowl.
Ali contacted CBS for comment about his article, but they declined.
