’N Sync’s JC Chasez unleashed a scathing indictment of the NFL on Thursday for yanking him from the Pro Bowl halftime show, then asking him to sing the national anthem instead following the unexpected breast display during the Super Bowl.
“I have had a great relationship with the NFL in the past and feel that I have been mistreated,” Chasez said, adding that he’s won’t sing “The Star-Spangled Banner” before Sunday’s annual all-star game in Honolulu.
The 27-year-old pop star initially was to have performed “Some Girls (Dance With Women),” off his upcoming album, at halftime.
After the Super Bowl halftime show — in which Chasez’s bandmate, Justin Timberlake, tore off a piece of Janet Jackson’s top, exposing her breast — the NFL reevaluated Chasez’s planned performance.
The singer said in a statement that the NFL expressed concern over some of his lyrics and asked him to change his song choice to “Blowin’ Me Up (With Her Love)” off the “Drumline” soundtrack.
That also proved problematic, because the latter song contains the words “horny” and “naughty,” which Chasez said he reluctantly agreed to change. He was later removed from the halftime show entirely and replaced by hula dancers, drummers, conch shell blowers and local singers, who were to have been the pre-game entertainment.
However, the NFL still wanted him to sing the national anthem.
Brian McCarthy, a spokesman for the Pro Bowl, told The Associated Press by cell phone from Hawaii: “We saw what happened on Sunday, and Monday we took a look at what the performance would have been in terms of the music and dancing. We just felt it was inappropriate as we’re being extremely cautious in light of what happened at the Super Bowl.”
Chasez said in his statement: “While I agree the mishap at the Super Bowl was a huge mistake, the NFL’s shallow effort to portray my music as sexually indecent brings to mind another era when innocent artists were smeared with a broad brush by insecure but powerful people. That’s not the America I love. Nor is this the NFL I love. I’ll sing the national anthem anytime, anywhere, but not for this NFL.”
He also the criticized the league’s leadership, saying it had “clearly become so disoriented it has reduced itself to bashing me and my music to divert attention from the fact that the NFL screwed up at the Super Bowl.”
McCarthy’s response: “We’re not going to debate him. We made our decision and we’re going to move on.”
He said it was unclear who would sing the national anthem before Sunday’s Pro Bowl.