Justice for Janet: Justin Timberlake really isn’t having a good year...

Earlier this year, Justin Timberlake was forced to issue a PR-written apology after 
the documentary ❝Framing Britney Spears❞ sparked some serious online backlash. 
As we know, he was at the forefront of a whole slut shaming campaign against Britney Spears 
during their break up, which he then used to elevate his early solo career. 

Justin Timberlake coldly abandoned Janet Jackson during her Super Bowl nigglegate scandal in 2004, despite him being the one to expose her breast to millions. Her career suffered, while his career flourished. His apology would never have arrived if social media and the Free Britney movement were not lighting coals underneath his ass. In fact, his apology was bullsh*t. He didn't say anything we didn't already know such as... white male privilege protected his career. 

A month AFTER he issued his apology, Janet announced that she would be telling her side 
of the story to Lifetime in a two-night documentary event set for a January 2022 premiere. 
Last night, FX and Hulu teamed up with the makers of "Framing Britney Spears" to announce they too will be airing a similar style documentary titled, ‘Malfunction: The Dressing Down of Janet Jackson.’ Janet has no affiliation to the documentary. And after both documentaries are aired, JT is going to be feeling the backlash once again. What type of apology will he post on social media this go round?

13 Comments:

nil said...

If he is smart , he asked Janet to have a conversation on camera about it.
Or he contacts the fx/hulu people to be included . that is the only way to perhaps salvage himself haha
but I really dont care. He deserves it all. He was a bitch for not standing up for janet

SLH said...

Justin already apologized to Janet well over a decade ago. She said herself on Oprah he reached out to her personally. Why is this even being rehashed again? He should have never publicly apologized, this whole thing is stupid.

Remmi said...

Did her career really suffer, though? Janet continued to work on, release and sell albums (Damita Jo - 2004, 20 Y.O. - 2006, Discipline - 2008), go on tour (Rock With You Tour - 2008) and make movies (Why Did I Get Married, Too - 2007). She then took a lengthy hiatus during which she buried her brother, became a Muslim, got married and had her first child before returning with Unbreakable 8 years later.

Within that same period, JT released one album (FutureSex/LoveSounds - 2006), did one world tour and featured in 6 hit and miss movies, so by comparison, his career didn't exactly flourish and leave hers in the dust. He did speak out publicly in multiple interviews about the unfairness between how they were both treated and the reasons for this, and Janet also confirmed to Oprah that he reached out privately to her at the time. I'm not sure what more people expect he should have done?

Toya said...

He didn't publicly stick up for her WHEN it mattered most and that's why a lot of people are upset about it (myself included). He literally distanced himself from it and acted like it was ALL her. Then he waited years later to say something when it was "safe" for him to do so and he didn't have much at stake as opposed to BACK THEN when his solo career was just starting out.

Toya said...

Just because she was able to release those albums does not mean she wasn't blacklisted. Those albums were her lowest in sales simply because she was not allowed to perform on any platforms to promote them. For many years, MTV banned her from performing on their platform... stopped playing all of her music videos and even some of the top radio stations in the country wouldn't play her new music. A lot of that had to do with that prick Les Moonves who used his power for an entire decade to derail her career. Karma finally got him when he was shamed and exposed as a sex predator. Karma always comes to collect.

Remmi said...

He waited 2 years, and there's no guaranteeing his influence would have made a blind bit of difference to Janet's blacklisting or to the sales of her albums either way. I've never heard of that guy you mentioned, but JT can't be held responsible for Ny vendetta he had against Janet which in turn may have affected the success of her career. I just feel like it was Janet's performance, it was her team that planned the stunt. Could JT have stood up for her more as a friend? Absolutely. Did he have an obligation to do so? I'd say not.

Toya said...

It's not about him trying to influence the outcome. She would STILL have been blacklisted if he spoke up. But they were friends and you just don't do that to someone you call a friend. I think that hurt her MORE than the actual blacklisting. He didn't stick up for her WHEN it mattered. Two years later is too late. Maybe he wanted to say something much sooner but his team most likely advised against it and told him to let her rot to save himself.

"I just feel like it was Janet's performance, it was her team that planned the stunt."

There is a lot of speculation behind WHO was behind the idea. There are a lot of conflicting reports. Some say it was all her. Some say it was all him (I actually did a post on it) and some say they BOTH planned it together (the most believable). I hope her documentary sheds some light on it so we can finally put it to bed for once and for all.

Remmi said...

The producer of the half time show spoke about it in detail. She says it was all planned out by JT's Wardrobe person in advance. JT flew in hours before the show with barely any time to rehearse it as it was his birthday weekend. Saying his career flourished whilst hers suffered makes it seem like people think he had a professional duty to defend her, and in nit doing so she suffered as a result and I just don't agree. If anybody should have apologised to her, it was those directly responsible for blacklisting her in the first place. Just my two cents on the matter.

https://youtu.be/yr3HgqdzqUc

Remmi said...

*Janet's wardrobe person

https://youtu.be/yr3HgqdzqUc

Toya said...

The flourishing of his career while hers went to shit just goes to show that racism was at play and this was so much bigger than the narrative of him not defending her. But that's a whole other debate.

Remmi said...

Some would argue that his career flourished because he released a damn good album,and that would always have been the case had the incident happened or not. With the exception of Damita Jo, which was released the same year as the superbowl incident, none of those albums I've mentioned that Janet has released since have been her best material. And her videos weren't blacklisted from MTV and songs from radio, neither was she banned from performing throughout the release of ALL of them. I agree that racism was at play in how Janet was treated, JT has said as much himself, I just don't agree that that should all be on the head of a 22 year old who like you say was probably advised to distance himself from it all. He's acknowledged he messed up, he's apologised, when are MTV and the other big wigs going to be held accountable for the culture of racism and sexism that was also at play here? Did we all boycott those channels and radio stations that blacklisted Janet or happily continue supporting them without a care, and if so, are we really in a position to condemn and judge anybody else's actions?

Toya said...

I'm not disputing that other parties should be blamed. He was clearly a scapegoat as well, to an extent. There are just certain things about the situation that doesn't sit right with me.

Remmi said...

Yeah I hear you. Bring on the documentary, can't wait to hear Miss Janet's take on it all!