Report: Jackson to Be a Grammy No-Show
Reuters
Thursday, February 5, 2004; 1:30 AM
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - 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.
But pop 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 Regulatory
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.
(Sue Zeidler contributed to this report from Los Angeles)
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