Tom Brady says Janet Jackson's wardrobe malfunction at the 2004 Super Bowl halftime show was 'a good thing for the NFL'
- Most remember the 2004 Super Bowl for "nipplegate" — when Justin Timberlake exposed Janet Jackson's breast on live TV.
- Tom Brady, who won that year's Super Bowl, said the moment was "probably a good thing for the NFL."
Tom Brady led the New England Patriots to one of the most thrilling Super Bowl victories of all time in 2004.
But when he walked off the field, the then-26-year-old quarterback was perplexed to find that no one had much to say about the game itself. It was the halftime show — or, more specifically, the now-infamous "wardrobe malfunction" at its close — that had everyone talking.
At the very end of Janet Jackson and Justin Timberlake's performance of "Rock Your Body," the NSYNC alum ripped a piece of fabric off of Jackson's chest and exposed her breast on live television for millions to see.
But Brady "didn't see anything," as he recalled on an episode of his podcast, "Let's Go." He was too busy "thinking about the game" and "trying to figure out halftime adjustments."
"We came off the field and that was when we had the wardrobe malfunction with Justin Timberlake and Janet Jackson," Brady said. "And they were asking me about that. I couldn't even understand what they were telling me about.
"It took a while for us to figure out exactly what had gone on," he added.
The moment, which has since become known as "nipplegate," sparked a massive controversy for the NFL and other companies affiliated with the event. Both Super Bowl XXXVIII broadcaster CBS and halftime show producer MTV issued apologies for the partial nudity, as did both Jackson and Timberlake.
But nearly 20 years after the "wardrobe malfunction" reverberated across the American pop culture universe, the 2004 Super Bowl MVP isn't convinced that the incident was a bad thing — at least not the league.
"I think in the end, it was probably a good thing for the NFL," Brady said of nipplegate. "Because everyone got to talk about it, and it was just more publicity and more publicity for halftime shows."
"Is any publicity bad publicity?" he added rhetorically. "That's what they say, so, who knows?"