Janet Jackson’s stylist has spoken out over her infamous wardrobe malfunction at the Super Bowl halftime show in 2004.
During the event, the singer’s breast – adorned with a nipple shield – was exposed by Justin Timberlake to the viewing public for approximately half a second.
Since then, the incident is often referred to as Nipplegate or Janetgate, and following the release of documentary Malfunction: The Dressing Down of Janet Jackson last week, celebrity stylist Wayne Scot Lukas has offered his side of the story.
“I was hired to do a job. I did exactly what I was supposed to do,” he commented to Access Hollywood. “If I work with someone who is a dancer, you have to be able to dance in a wardrobe, and it has to never fall apart. My job is to have snaps, pins, and Velcro, so even in her quick change, if she forgets to snap something back on, it stays on. That’s my job, I stand 100 per cent by my story that I did exactly what I was supposed to do, what I was hired for, and if I ever hurt my friend, I wouldn’t have worked with Janet for six years after the Super Bowl. I would have been fired that day.”
Wayne went on to note that Justin pulled off part of Janet’s costume when he sang the words, “Gonna have you naked by the end of this song,” the final line of Rock Your Body, and he didn’t appreciate the SexyBack star’s reaction to the mishap.
“(He) came off the stage and said, ‘It was just a little wardrobe malfunction. We all want to give you something to think about.’ He coined that phrase, and when he said that, I thought, ‘Friendship over.’ Wardrobe malfunction? I don’t malfunction,” he added. “I was a professional stylist. $10,000 a day back then. I can’t fail. Why did you say that?”
In addition, Wayne also took aim at the producers for not cutting “to black” quick enough.
“You were never supposed to see a movement where a breast was out, a body part was out. It was never supposed to be lingering on what they say was this terrible thing for such a long time. They were supposed to cut to black. You were supposed to get the idea of ‘I’m going to have you naked by the end of this song,’ nobody was supposed to be naked. Somebody didn’t push the button. Somebody didn’t protect my friend,” he sighed.
In February, Justin singled out Janet, as well as his ex-girlfriend Britney Spears, in an Instagram post where he apologised for his past behaviour, and insisted: “I can do better and I will do better.”
You can view the original article HERE.
