After glimpsing more of Janet Jackson than they bargained for during a notorious Super Bowl halftime show, television viewers may miss the singer altogether on the upcoming Grammy Awards broadcast.
Jackson, whose breast-baring Super Bowl performance sparked a public furor and federal regulatory investigation, will not be appearing as a Grammy Awards presenter as previously planned, according to reports Wednesday on syndicated TV shows ”Entertainment Tonight” and “Access Hollywood.”
“Access Hollywood” added that the CBS network, which carried the Super Bowl telecast and is broadcasting the Grammys this coming Sunday, retracted its invitation for Jackson to introduce a planned Grammy tribute to soul legend Luther Vandross.
Representatives for both the Viacom Inc.-owned network and the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences, which presents the Grammys, declined to comment on the reports. There was no immediate comment from Jackson’s publicist or her label, Virgin Records.
Jackson was conspicuously absent from a press release issued earlier in the day by Grammy organizers listing the show’s lineup of celebrity hosts, presenters and performers.
Meanwhile, the same group that organized Michael Jackson's "Caravan of Love" has taken up Janet Jackson's cause. The civil rights group Project Islamic HOPE will hold a news conference on Thursday to announce its plans to organize a protest at the Grammys on Sunday if Janet Jackson is not allowed to participate in the show.
In its press release, the group said it found it hypocritical for the Grammys to invite rapper R. Kelly, who has been charged with sexual misconduct with a minor and possession of child pornography, to perform but to rescind Jackson's invitation.
Timberlake still scheduled to performPop idol Justin Timberlake, who ripped open Jackson’s black leather bustier to expose her right breast at the end of their steamy halftime duet on Sunday, remained on the Grammys’ entertainment roster.
On Tuesday, a Grammy spokesman insisted that both Jackson and Timberlake would appear as planned for the broadcast of the recording industry’s highest honors. But CBS said it would air the awards ceremony with a longer tape delay to make it easier for network censors to edit any crude language or behavior from the telecast.
Jackson, Timberlake, CBS and sister cable outlet MTV, which produced the halftime show, have all apologized for the breast-flashing incident. Jackson, who has a new album due for release next month, has said the disrobing stunt was her idea but went further than she had anticipated. Timberlake called it a “wardrobe malfunction.”
CBS already faces an inquiry from the Federal Communications Commission on whether broadcast indecency standards were violated by the incident, which capped a highly sexualized dance routine by Jackson, Timberlake and a group of scantily clad backup performers.
The FCC’s review will reportedly extend to the entire halftime show, which included crotch-grabbing moves by rappers Sean “P. Diddy” Combs and Nelly and racy lyrics by rap-rocker Kid Rock.