CBS CEO Les Moonves tried to ‘ruin’ Janet Jackson’s career after Super Bowl: Report

Janet
Jackson and Justin Timberlake perform during the halftime show at
Super Bowl XXXVIII.
Donald
Miralle/Getty

• CBS boss Les Moonves sought to undermine Janet
  Jackson’s career after the infamous “wardrobe malfunction”
  incident at the 2004 Super Bowl halftime show, according to a
  HuffPost report. 
• Multiple sources told HuffPost that Moonves considered
  Jackson “not sufficiently repentant” for the incident and
  subsequently banned her music from MTV, VH1, and other
  Viacom-owned properties. 
• 
  Moonves is reportedly in settlement talks to
  leave CBS, with the board offering around $100 million amid an
  investigation into sexual misconduct allegations against
  him.
  

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Les Moonves, the embattled CEO of CBS, reportedly sought to ban
Janet Jackson from MTV and Viacom-owned properties, and undermine
her career, after the infamous “wardrobe malfunction” incident
that took place at the 2004 Super Bowl halftime show, according
to HuffPost report.

Multiple unnamed sources told HuffPost that Moonves considered
Jackson “not sufficiently repentant” for the incident, in
which Justin Timberlake ripped away a piece of Jackson’s leather
outfit during the halftime show and left her breast exposed for
“9/16
of a second” on live TV. 

CBS and the halftime show’s producer, MTV, which were both
under the parent company Viacom at the time, faced criticism and
a $550,000 fine from the Federal Communications Commission.
Moonves said in a statement following the incident that CBS was
“angry
and embarrassed” by the malfunction. 

Though Timberlake and Jackson both said at the time that the
incident was a true malfunction, Moonves banned both artists from
appearing on the 2004 Grammy Awards broadcast by CBS.

According to HuffPost’s sources, Timberlake “tearfully
apologized” for the incident and was allowed to perform at the
Grammys, but Moonves was “furious that Jackson didn’t make a
similarly contrite apology to him,” and subsequently sought to
further undercut her career. 

Moonves reportedly ordered a ban on Jackson’s music on MTV, VH1,
and other Viacom-owned properties, which adversely affected the
sales of Jackson’s March 2004 album “Damita Jo.”

HuffPost’s sources said that they felt that Moonves “played
a large part” in how the public perceived Jackson in the
aftermath of an event that significantly damaged her
career.

Seven years after the incident, Moonves was reportedly
“furious” and “aggressive” in tone to several sources after
Jackson signed a book deal with Simon & Schuster (which is
owned by Viacom) for her 2011 memoir “True You.”

Moonves is reportedly in
settlement talks to leave CBS, with the board offering around
$100 million amid an investigation into sexual misconduct
allegations against him, which appeared in a New Yorker report in
July. NBC News also reported that Shari Redstone, the controlling
shareholder of both CBS and Viacom, has been
seeking a possible replacement for Moonves.

CBS declined to comment on HuffPost’s report.
Representatives for CBS also declined to comment to Business
Insider, and Jackson’s reps did not immediately respond to a
request for comment.