Janet Jackson's Career Was Sabatoged By Disgruntled CBS CEO

[Dunk96 2,526]

https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/les-moonves-janet-jackson-career_us_5b919b8ce4b0511db3e0a269

One thing that allies and critics of Les Moonves, the CEO and chairman of CBS, agree on is that he tends to remember who his enemies are, and exact revenge on them on his terms. From actors to entertainment lawyers, people who ended up on the wrong side of Moonves would often become his target for years after they upset him.

Although Moonves is embattled and likely to be ousted from CBS amid sexual harassment allegations (reportedly with a significant severance payment) following an investigation by The New Yorker, many women and men whom I contacted about Moonves’ conduct were reluctant to speak to me, even when I told them they could speak off the record.

One target of Moonves’ ire and vengefulness, according to multiple sources, was Janet Jackson.

Jackson became a years-long fixation for Moonves after the so-called “wardrobe malfunction” of 2004, when her breast was exposed for nine-sixteenths of a second after Justin Timberlake tore a piece of fabric off her bustier during their Super Bowl halftime performance. CBS and MTV (a subsidiary of Viacom, the parent company of CBS at the time), which produced the halftime show, faced a torrent of criticism and a $550,000 Federal Communications Commission fine.

Jackson and Timberlake both said the incident was truly a malfunction ― that Timberlake was only meant to rip away the leather on Jackson’s bustier to reveal red lace, but instead ripped away everything, leaving her breast exposed to over 100 million Super Bowl fans.

Moonves, however, was convinced it wasn’t a malfunction, but rather an intentional bid to stir up controversy. Moonves has been open about the fact that the incident caused him embarrassment, and he told sources who spoke to me that Jackson, in his mind, was not sufficiently repentant.

Moonves banned Jackson and Timberlake from the 2004 Grammys broadcast airing on CBS the week after the Super Bowl. But Timberlake was allowed to perform after he tearfully apologized for the incident, according to conversations Moonves had with my sources.

The CBS chief executive, according to sources who spoke to me, was furious that Jackson didn’t make a similarly contrite apology to him. The fallout from the incident inflicted significant damage on Jackson’s career ― which until that point had produced 10 No. 1 hits ― and still reverberates to this day.

Moonves ordered Viacom properties VH1 and MTV, and all Viacom-owned radio stations, to stop playing Jackson’s songs and music videos. The move had a huge impact on sales of her album “Damita Jo,” which was released in March 2004, just a month after the Super Bowl.

A major point of controversy, particularly among Jackson’s black fans, was that the reaction to the wardrobe malfunction fell solely on Jackson’s shoulders, even though Timberlake was the one who actually pulled off the fabric to reveal her breast. While Jackson’s career was significantly damaged, Timberlake’s flourished. CBS insiders who spoke to me felt strongly that Moonves played a large part in how Jackson was perceived by the public.

A spokesperson for CBS declined to comment for this story.

Seven years after the 2004 incident, Moonves told several sources he was furious when he found out Jackson had signed a book deal with Simon & Schuster for her book True You: A Journey to Finding and Loving Yourself. Simon & Schuster is owned by the CBS Corporation.

“How the f*ck did she slip through?” Moonves asked while recounting the story to a source who spoke to me. He told another source that heads were going to roll as a result of the deal.

It’s not clear whether Moonves ever actually took action against anyone who gave Jackson the book deal, but his tone when he spoke about Jackson was so aggressive, one source said they couldn’t speak to me on the record because “I’m not interested in having that man following me to the grave and trying to screw me over the whole time.”

 

Honestly I'm not at all surprised that this happened and it's great to know that this is coming out now instead of waiting much longer. Janet surely deserves justice and Moonves isn't the only one to blame either in this whole scenario. But he's the biggest factor.

 

[culturalbaptism 2,967]

But Timberlake was allowed to perform after he tearfully apologized for the incident, according to conversations Moonves had with my sources.

That's what he does best. Play the victim. I'm so glad he's irrelevant now. It look a long time but the general public finally saw him for what he truly is. Miss Janet remains a ****ing winner.

[Whispering 18,865]

15 minutes ago, Successga said:

 

 

That's what he does best. Play the victim. I'm so glad he's irrelevant now. It look a long time but the general public finally saw him for what he truly is. Miss Janet remains a ****ing winner.

JT's current tour is on track to reach a total of $275 million and 2 million attendees by the time it concludes. That's not irrelevant. 

The GP loves him. 

[DiscoHeaven23 35,007]

Scum.

absolute scum.

 

i hope his fall from grace is a hard, emotionally painful plunge.

abuse of power is sick

[Dunk96 2,526]

2 hours ago, Whispering said:

JT's current tour is on track to reach a total of $275 million and 2 million attendees by the time it concludes. That's not irrelevant. 

The GP loves him. 

His album and his Superbowl performance both completely bombed though. None of the singles from his new album played once on the radio. They kept going back to his older stuff (Can't Stop The Feeling,Love Never Felt So Good,etc.) over his new single material from this new album. Plus the GP is pretty much over his attitude towards everything. He's had a really bad fall from grace this era and it's undeniable. His touring is the only thing saving his ass at the moment because he's had the worst firestorm of his entire career. The GP is finally siding with Janet in this whole situation and it took fourteen years for it to finally fall into Janet's court (as it should have from the get-go.)

[Whispering 18,865]

1 minute ago, Dunk96 said:

His album and his Superbowl performance both completely bombed though. None of the singles from his new album played once on the radio. They kept going back to his older stuff (Can't Stop The Feeling,Love Never Felt So Good,etc.) over his new single material from this new album. Plus the GP is pretty much over his attitude towards everything. He's had a really bad fall from grace this era and it's undeniable. His touring is the only thing saving his ass at the moment because he's had the worst firestorm of his entire career. The GP is finally siding with Janet in this whole situation and it took fourteen years for it to finally fall into Janet's court (as it should have from the get-go.)

Lol, the GP loves him. No one outside of stan culture cares about the SB scandal from decades ago. 

He's doing just fine...more than fine! 

[LeJudas 6,490]

12 minutes ago, Whispering said:

Lol, the GP loves him. No one outside of stan culture cares about the SB scandal from decades ago. 

He's doing just fine...more than fine! 

Are you offended or something?

[Dunk96 2,526]

11 minutes ago, Whispering said:

Lol, the GP loves him. No one outside of stan culture cares about the SB scandal from decades ago. 

He's doing just fine...more than fine! 

You completely just ignored every point I made and skipped over to remake the same point you were trying to make. Cute. As I already stated his current album era and his recent SB both bombed in critical reviews. The only thing keeping him afloat is touring currently. But keep going ahead and being a deluded JT stan all you want. I'll stick with facts.

[ItsTommyBitch 12,640]

 

Kind of cackling at him probably being ousted for sexual assault/harassment though, hope it happens because it would probably be the only justice that is to be had at this point.

[LordEnigma 11,313]

27 minutes ago, Dunk96 said:

His album and his Superbowl performance both completely bombed though. None of the singles from his new album played once on the radio. They kept going back to his older stuff (Can't Stop The Feeling,Love Never Felt So Good,etc.) over his new single material from this new album. Plus the GP is pretty much over his attitude towards everything. He's had a really bad fall from grace this era and it's undeniable. His touring is the only thing saving his ass at the moment because he's had the worst firestorm of his entire career. The GP is finally siding with Janet in this whole situation and it took fourteen years for it to finally fall into Janet's court (as it should have from the get-go.)

As if Jackson has had any amount of success in this decade compared to Timberlake. What are you thinking?

[Reginald 13,841]

I'm still highkey REALLY pissed about what happened to Janet's career after the super bowl.  

I don't know how many people reading this thread are old enough to remember it but it was a MASSIVE media firestorm dragging her through the mud for YEARS

[Dunk96 2,526]

8 minutes ago, Alexander Levi said:

As if Jackson has had any amount of success in this decade compared to Timberlake. What are you thinking?

No Sleeep getting to #1 on the Billboard charts? Discipline & Unbreakable being Janet's 6th and 7th #1 albums? Three icon awards this year alone? Raking in several million dollars on tour sales? Made For Now earning 30 million views on YouTube? None of those ring a bell? Try again sweetie. Janet's doing just fine. Probably better than Justin that's for damn sure.

https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-album-reviews/review-justin-timberlake-heads-for-the-country-sort-of-on-man-of-the-woods-206295/

https://www.billboard.com/articles/columns/pop/8097909/justin-timberlakes-man-of-the-woods-album-reviews

https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/justin-timberlake-man-of-the-woods/

https://www.mercurynews.com/2018/04/25/review-justin-timberlake-falls-short-with-latest-concert-tour/

https://www.usatoday.com/story/life/entertainthis/2018/02/02/justin-timberlake-best-critic-slams-man-woods/301416002/

https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2018/feb/04/justin-timberlake-man-of-the-woods-album-review

https://mashable.com/2018/02/02/timberlake-man-of-the-woods-reviews/#4cLhWpolPOqt

Keep going because I've got more for days. Don't try me when it comes to Janet.

[culturalbaptism 2,967]

5 hours ago, Whispering said:

JT's current tour is on track to reach a total of $275 million and 2 million attendees by the time it concludes. That's not irrelevant. 

The GP loves him. 

Keep telling yourself that. Culture shifted. Even Eminem is struggling.

[Damon 10,905]

I don't want to be rude but I think Janet was never a big thing though, I learned from her just a year ago

I tried to give her music a try but didn't catch a thing

32 minutes ago, Successga said:

Keep telling yourself that. Culture shifted. Even Eminem is struggling.

those numbers are even better than Gaga's last tours, accoeding to you she's not succesful? they are at the same level of success though

C'mon guys stop being so bitter, Justin is a great artist and he already apologized and they moved on from that many years ago, t'all should too

[RadioIsOurs 13,876]

Why are big Hollywood people so petty?