More Skin During Superbowl Halftime Show
More Skin During Superbowl Halftime Show
Type of Article: Op/Ed
Written Feb. 7, 2010
Body word count: 328
By Ken Carroll
During Super Bowl XXXVIII (38) halftime show, Justin Timberlake tears off part of Janet Jackson’s wardrobe during their performance in the Super Bowl halftime show causing quite a controversy, despite the fact that most people watching didn’t even notice.
But this year’s halftime show with the “Who” performing during Super Bowl XLIV (44) has to be more objectionable and controversial. “Pete” Townshend (born 19 May 1945) is an English rock guitarist, vocalist, songwriter and author, known principally as the guitarist and songwriter for The Who will be 65 years old this summer. During the show, while playing guitar, and during the final wave to the crowd, exposed his English, pale white stomach to the estimated 168 million people that watched the show.
Folks are you with me? Townshend repeatedly exposed his ugly stomach area, which was three times the size of Janet Jackson’s breast. Janet Jackson’s breast, adorned with a nipple shield, was exposed by Justin Timberlake for about half a second, in what was later referred to as a “wardrobe malfunction”.
Jackson’s exposure led to an immediate crackdown and widespread debate on perceived indecency in broadcasting, and resulted in a record $550,000 fine levied by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) against CBS, as well as an increase of the FCC fine per indecency violation from $27,500 to $325,000. Additionally, some commentators saw the halftime show as a sign of decreasing morality in the national culture.
I am all for morality, but I am having a hard time deciding which was more disgusting, seeing Jackson’s breast momentarily, or Townshend’s ugly stomach repeatedly?
Since the infamous Janet Jackson wardrobe malfunction 6 years ago when cameras briefly caught Jackson’s partially exposed breast, over 500,000 complaints were received, leading superbowl organizers to actually discriminate against potential performers by only inviting classic rockers unlikely to spontaneously disrobe for its half-time shows, inviting Paul McCartney, the Rolling Stones, Prince, Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers, and most recently Bruce Springsteen and This year’s “Who”. After Townshend’s display, old classic rockers are not even safe to have doing the shows.
Ken Carroll is a Peoria, AZ native, and a former newspaper editorialist in Tennessee, Kansas, Utah and Arizona. He currently is a freelance columnist living in Peoria, Arizona. Mr. Carroll encourages rebuttals and feedback. He can be reached at: kennethcarroll@cox.net
Copyright © 2010 Kenneth Carroll
