A compelling new trailer is out for the Janet Jackson documentary set to air on Lifetime on Jan. 28, 2022. The two-night event is timed with the 40th anniversary of the pop icon's first album.
Over five years in the making, the four-hour documentary follows Jackson as her family is going through the loss of their father, Joseph, who passed away in 2018. The film also shows never-before-seen archival footage and detailed accounts of her biggest moments, including her 2004 Super Bowl halftime show performance with Justin Timberlake, which sparked controversy that has followed her over the years.
Timberlake returned to the Super Bowl in 2018 to headline that year's halftime show. A scene in the new trailer seems to suggest that he invited Jackson to perform with him during the show.
"Justin and his team have been trying to contact us about you doing the Super Bowl," someone says to her while sitting on a couch.
She, of course, seems to have declined since she did not perform with Timberlake during that halftime show. The doc hopefully will add context into what fueled her decision.
At the time of the infamous "wardrobe malfunction," Jackson suffered significant backlash and fallout while Timberlake went unscathed. A FX documentary that came out last year — that Jackson did not participate in — shed light on the incident in great detail.
“I think it just became an explosive powder keg,” director Jodi Gomes explained during an interview on TODAY in 2021. “And in the middle of that was this woman who had pioneered her image, and she was punished for it.”
Last year, Timberlake issued an apology to Jackson and Britney Spears after the halftime controversy came under new scrutiny following the documentary “The Framing of Britney Spears” in which he was also prominently featured for his role in the "...Baby One More Time More" singer’s life.
“I understand that I fell short in these moments and in many others and benefited from a system that condones misogyny and racism,” he wrote in a February 2021 post to Instagram. “I specifically want to apologize to Britney Spears and Janet Jackson both individually because I care for and respect these women and I know I failed.”
Jackson never publicly responded to his apology. At the time, her brother, Marlon Jackson, did.
“We’d like to move forward,” he said. “It was out there, the negativity about it, but, you know, as they said in the old days, as long as they’re talking about you, good or bad, you’re still in the public’s eye. And we thank you, Justin, for what you’re doing, for what you did.”
Jackson did thank fans in February 2021 after her 1986 album, “Control,” soared to the top of the charts, as her supporters rallied around her in the wake of the “Framing Britney Spears” documentary.
“You’re so special to me,” she said in an emotional Twitter video. “And I want to thank all of you for making ‘Control’ number one, once again, after 35 years.”