Whether you were at a Super Bowl Party in January 2004, watching the game alone or on the space shuttle, you saw or heard about Janet Jackson’s breast being exposed during her half-time performance with Justin Timberlake. If you saw it live, it may seem like it was on screen for 10 or 15 seconds, when in reality it was a fraction of a second. But thanks to TiVo and DVRs, the Internet and every other network and news station, Janet’s breast was seen over and over and over.

Well, on Monday, the U.S. Court of Appeals overturned the FCC’s $550,000 fine against CBS.
 
I’m just a D.J., but I think the court’s decision was right. Instead of fining the CBS stations that originally aired the Super Bowl half-time show, how about the FCC questioning all the other hundreds of stations who boosted their ratings by repeatedly airing the mal-function? The whole thing was a lot of hype over practically nothing (no offense to Janet’s right breast!); Janet’s breast was exposed for a fraction of a second, and if we’d never seen it replayed, the incident would have been forgotten by the end of the game.

But here’s what bothers me. As the weeks went by, Justin Timberlake was given a pass. Remember, Janet’s breast didn’t miraculously become exposed. Justin ripped off her top. The whole thing is just more proof of the media’s double standard for white celebrities.
If Usher had ripped off Jessica Simpson’s top at a Super Bowl half-time show, I’m willing to bet that Usher would have been taken all of the heat. But that’s hypothetical, so I can’t really argue that point. What I can argue is that Janet’s career and reputation were damaged while Justin’s career has flourished. He’s a talented singer, so I can’t hate on the popularity of his music. But last year, he hosted the Kid’s Choice Awards on Nickelodeon, and the Sunday before the appeals court ruling was handed down, he was hosting ESPN’s ESPY Awards.

For Justin, all has been forgiven, but not for Janet. Last year, when she was promoting her role in a movie, a local reporter insisted on asking her about exposing her breast. After being bombarded with complaints, the reporter made an on-air apology. But I still hear media people describe the Super Bowl incident as the day Janet “whipped out her breast” on national TV.

The ruling clearing CBS means that they probably realized the hypocrisy of the whole thing. I wonder how many people who complained about the half-time show went straight to YouTube to view Janet’s breast up close. But more importantly, I wonder whether Chris Brown, Rihanna, and any other young black celebrities on the rise learned that they can make the money and get the same gigs as their white counterparts, but when and if they make mistake -- or have a “malfunction” -- they will always pay a higher price.