A Stylist Claims Justin Timberlake Set Up Janet Jackson At The Super Bowl To One-Up Britney Spears
I think many can agree that Janet Jackson was done dirty after Justin Timberlake closed out the 2004 Super Bowl Halftime Show by ripping off her detachable titty cover and exposing her right boob. A few months ago, Justin finally clued in and realized that he was arguably the villain during that Super Bowl moment, and publicly acknowledged that Janet deserved an apology. He never said what he was apologizing for, and if he was looking for a reason to issue a follow-up statement, well – maybe he can reference some recent comments made by Janet’s then-stylist. Because according to stylist Wayne Scot Lukas, Justin allegedly pushed for a “wardrobe malfunction” because he wanted to upstage all the attention and publicity Britney Spears got six months earlier for kissing Madonna at the MTV VMAs. Justin Timberlake? Being jealous of a woman’s attention and feeling the need to one-up her in the most obnoxious way? That definitely doesn’t sound like something Justin Timberlake would do.
In August 2003, Britney and Christina Aguilera opened the VMAs with “Like A Virgin” before Madonna rose out of a giant wedding cake to sing “Hollywood” and kiss both Britney and Christina. Of course, the camera immediately cut to Justin in the audience after Britney’s kiss, because Justin and Britney had broken up in 2002 and it was acrimonious (even if they’re allegedly on good terms now).
It was a moment that got tons of attention and publicity. I specifically remember Halloween 2003, and it felt like every other group costume was a Madonna-Britney-Christina thing executed with varying levels of success. Apparently, Justin was jealous of all that and wanted it too. Wayne Scot Lukas spoke to Page Six and said that while he was prepping Janet’s look, Justin was hell-bent on making sure their Super Bowl Halftime Show grabbed more headlines than Madonna and Britney’s moment at the VMAs. And that’s why Justin grabbed Janet’s costume. Wayne Scot Lukas says that it was no accident Janet’s titty was exposed.
The stylist who prepped Janet Jackson’s look for her infamous 2004 Super Bowl appearance with Justin Timberlake tells Page Six that Timberlake pushed for the “wardrobe malfunction” in an attempt to outdo Britney Spears, Madonna and Christina Aguilera…Timberlake “insisted on doing something bigger than their performance. He wanted a reveal.”
“I wouldn’t call it a wardrobe ‘malfunction’ in a million years. It was the most functioning wardrobe in history. As a stylist, it did what it was intended to do.”
Wayne Scot Lukas adds that the original idea they had was for Justin to step on the back of Janet’s dress to reveal that she was wearing a pearl g-string (like Samantha Jones’ pearl g-string from Sex and the City). That idea was scrapped a few days before the show.
As for why Wayne is speaking out now, 17 years later, it’s because he was motivated by Justin’s recent apology to Janet. Wayne adds that he knows Justin apologized in private to Janet and that she accepted his apology, which is why he felt comfortable telling the story. Also, he’s got a tell-all book in the works. An anonymous source that spoke to Page Six claims his story about Justin wanting a big publicity moment is a lie, adding that it feels like Wayne is “trying to sell a book.”
The crazy thing is, if Justin really was thirsty for a ME ME ME moment at the Super Bowl, he didn’t even have to drag Janet into it. If he really wanted to top Britney’s moment, he should have just copied it, but gone bigger. Justin needed to surprise everyone by pulling every member of NSYNC up on stage and kiss them all one by one. Think of the headlines we could have had. “NSMOOCH – Justin Sucks Face At Super Bowl With Former Bandmates. Even Joey Fatone!”
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