Janet’s Almost-Live Gig
By Sarah Hall
Janet Jackson is returning to America’s airwaves…but she’s not being trusted with a live performance just yet.
She of the infamous wardrobe malfunction will perform a concert on ABC’s Good Morning America later this month, but her portion of the show will air on a five-second video and audio delay, the network said.
The appearance was reportedly scheduled back in November, and after discussion, ABC execs decided to move forward with the show, scheduled for March 31 in Battery Park.
In addition to some of her hit songs, Jackson will perform her latest single, “Just a Little While, from her tepidly reviewed upcoming album, Damita Jo, due in stores March 30.
Before the performance, she’ll chat with Diane Sawyer and Charles Gibson, presumably about the controversy created by her breast-baring Super Bowl appearance.
Good Morning America does not usually air its concerts on delay, but since the furor over Boobgate, many programs have instituted the delay for the first time.
Both the 2004 Academy Awards and the Grammys were aired with time-lapses to ensure that nothing inappropriate made it onto America’s television screens.
Further decency furor has led to shock jock Howard Stern being yanked from a half-dozen radio stations after an incident on his radio show was deemed unacceptable by Clear Channel execs.
Popular television programs such as ER, Without a Trace and America’s Next Top Model have had episodes edited for content to meet appropriate standards (i.e., no nipples or orgies), and ABC had portions of an NYPD Blue sex scene darkened in the Central and Mountain time zones. Alanis Morissette changed the lyrics of her new single, “Everything,” from “I can be an a–hole of the of the grandest kind” to “I can be a nightmare…” in order to have the song be played on radio (the original version remains on her album, So-Called Chaos, due May 18).
On Thursday, the House of Representatives voted to up the maximum fine for broadcast indecency from $27,500 to a whopping $500,000.
Both Jackson and Boobgate partner in crime, Justin Timberlake, have suffered career setbacks as a result of the Super Bowl stunt.
However, Jackson’s “scarlet letter” period of keeping a low profile has apparently come to a close.
In addition to the ABC performance, Jackson will also be appearing as both the host and the musical guest on Saturday Night Live April 12.
Hopefully this time around, she’ll be buttoned, zippered and shackled into her costume of choice–America just isn’t equipped to handle a slip of the nipple.