More than twenty years after Janet Jackson’s infamous Super Bowl halftime show wardrobe mishap with Justin Timberlake, the designer who made Jackson’s outfit says everything was planned. He also says that he wants Timberlake to finally tell the truth.
Wayne Scot Lukas, a designer who has worked on Janet Jackson’s clothes for years, made these statements during an interview on TMZ Live on Tuesday while discussing Justin Timberlake’s upcoming four‑part documentary on Apple TV.
During the conversation, Lukas said that there was no wardrobe malfunction. In fact, he said Janet Jackson’s outfit worked exactly as it was intended.
Janet Jackson’s Designer Claims Super Bowl Exposure Was No Accident
Wayne Scot Lukas claimed to TMZ that the original plan for Janet Jackson’s 2004 Super Bowl performance was for Justin Timberlake to expose her backside, which would have been covered by a G-string. Lukas even showed the undergarment during his interview with TMZ.
However, two days before the Super Bowl halftime show, Lukas says the plan changed. Now, Timberlake was going to expose Jackson’s chest instead.
The reason for the change? He said they wanted to beat the attention that Britney Spears, Madonna and Christina Aguilera received when they kissed at the 2003 MTV Video Music Awards.
Wayne Scot Lukas says the cameras were supposed to cut away and the screen was supposed to go black afterward.
Obviously, that didn’t happen. Instead, more than 140 million people watching Super Bowl XXXVIII saw Janet Jackson exposed, sparking one of television’s biggest controversies.
Lukas blames MTV’s producers for failing to cut away as planned. He also isn’t particularly happy with Justin Timberlake for calling the incident a wardrobe malfunction.
“He coined the phrase ‘wardrobe malfunction,’ which blamed it on me,” Lukas told TMZ.
Lukas claims the controversy cost him numerous jobs because of morality clauses in his contracts. Janet Jackson also suffered significant repercussions, while Justin Timberlake largely escaped the same level of backlash.
It’s also worth remembering that Tom Brady caught some heat in 2023 for claiming Jackson’s infamous wardrobe malfunction was probably a good thing for the NFL because of all the publicity it generated. However, his comments didn’t sit well with many fans who pointed out how much damage the controversy did to Jackson’s career.
Designer Wants Justin Timberlake To Tell The Truth In New Documentary
With Justin Timberlake preparing to release a four-part documentary in December, Wayne Scot Lukas believes it’s time for the singer to tell the whole story. He also says Timberlake never apologized to him for the damage the incident caused to his career.
Of course, Janet Jackson has long maintained that the whole thing was accidental, and she has said that she and Timberlake have forgiven each other. So there are still some pretty significant differences in their versions of events.
Looks like we will have to wait until December to see if this two-decade-long controversy will finally be put to rest.