The Team Behind ‘Framing Britney Spears’ Is Tackling The Janet Jackson Super Bowl Incident

When the documentary series Framing Britney Spears bowed on HBO back in February, it caused an avalanche of support to come the singer’s way. Long a target of condescending press coverage — not to mention still legally under the control of her domineering father — Spears found the public finally rallying to her side, hoping to correct years of unfair coverage. Now the team behind the doc look to be trying to do for Janet Jackson what they did for Britney.

According to US Weekly, Left/Right TV, who produced the Spears doc, are at work on a movie about the infamous halftime show at Super Bowl XXXVIII, in 2004. That’s the one where a performance by Jackson and Justin Timberlake resulted in a “wardrobe malfunction,” in which the latter ripped off part of her costume, exposing one of her breasts for half a second. The incident led to a massive fallout. The FCC tried, and failed, to fine CBS for over half a billion dollars, while some accused the two of staging it, with Jackson receiving more vitriol than Timberlake.

Neither Jackson nor Timberlake are involved in the movie, though the former is working on a documentary about her own career to coincide with the forthcoming 40th anniversary of her debut album, Janet Jackson. Timberlake, meanwhile, has come under fire over the last couple years, as the public has begun viewing his treatment of both Jackson and Spears, who he once dated, with a more critical eye. Indeed, after Framing Britney Spears debuted, he issued a formal apology to both parties.

“I specifically want to apologize to Britney Spears and Janet Jackson both individually, because I care for and respect these women and I know I failed,” he wrote in an Instagram post. “Because of my ignorance, I didn’t recognize it for all that it was while it was happening in my own life but I do not want to ever benefit from others being pulled down again.”

(Via US Weekly)

Works By Nas, Janet Jackson, And Kermit The Frog Have Been Inducted Into The Library Of Congress

Having a work preserved in the National Recording Registry of the Library Of Congress is a significant honor, and now that feat is something a handful of artists can add to their resume. Today, the Library Of Congress announced its 2020 selections for the registry and among the highlights from the world of modern music are Nas’ 1994 album Illmatic and Janet Jackson’s 1989 album Rhythm Nation 1814.

Some other notable works include one of the oldest known audio recordings via Thomas Edison, Kermit The Frog’s “The Rainbow Connection,” Israel Kamakawiwo’ole’s “Over The Rainbow/What A Wonderful World,” Kool & The Gang’s “Celebration,” Jackson Browne’s Late For The Sky, and the This American Life episode “The Giant Pool Of Money,” which is the first podcast recording to be included in the National Recording Registry.

Librarian Of Congress Carla Hayden said, “The National Recording Registry will preserve our history through these vibrant recordings of music and voices that have reflected our humanity and shaped our culture from the past 143 years. We received about 900 public nominations this year for recordings to add to the registry, and we welcome the public’s input as the Library Of Congress and its partners preserve the diverse sounds of history and culture.”

Check out the full list of recordings from the 2020 class below.

1. “St. Louis Tinfoil” — Thomas Edison (1878)
2. “Nikolina” — Hjalmar Peterson (1917) (single)
3. “Smyrneikos Balos” — Marika Papagika (1928) (single)
4. “When The Saints Go Marching In” — Louis Armstrong (1938) (single)
5. Christmas Eve Broadcast — FDR & Winston Churchill (Dec. 24, 1941)
6. “The Guiding Light” — Nov. 22, 1945
7. Odetta Sings Ballads And Blues — Odetta (1957) (album)
8. “Lord, Keep Me Day by Day” — Albertina Walker And The Caravans (1959) (single)
9. Roger Maris hits his 61st home run (October 1, 1961)
10. Aida — Leontyne Price, et.al. (1962) (album)
11. “Once A Day” — Connie Smith (1964) (single)
12. Born Under A Bad Sign — Albert King (1967) (album)
13. Free To Be…You & Me — Marlo Thomas And Friends (1972) (album)
14. The Harder They Come — Jimmy Cliff (1972) (album)
15. “Lady Marmalade” — Labelle (1974) (single)
16. Late For The Sky — Jackson Browne (1974) (album)
17. Bright Size Life — Pat Metheny (1976) (album)
18. “The Rainbow Connection” — Kermit The Frog (1979) (single)
19. “Celebration” — Kool & The Gang (1980) (single)
20. Richard Strauss: Four Last Songs — Jessye Norman (1983) (album)
21. Rhythm Nation 1814 — Janet Jackson (1989) (album)
22. Partners — Flaco Jiménez (1992) (album)
23. “Over The Rainbow / What A Wonderful World” — Israel Kamakawiwo’ole (1993) (single)
24. Illmatic — Nas (1994) (album)
25. “This American Life: The Giant Pool Of Money” (May 9, 2008)

UCLA Gymnast Margzetta Frazier Was Moved To Tears After Janet Jackson Gushed Over Her Floor Routine

The UCLA gymnastics team has earned a reputation for their stellar floor routines in recent years, and junior Margzetta Frazier has been in the center of the spotlight. In year’s past, the athlete graced headlines after some of her routines included both voguing and soul-inspired dance moves. More recently, Frazier competed with a routine to Janet Jackson’s music — and the singer loved it so much that she personally thanked the gymnast.

After a video went viral of Frazier nailing a floor routine to a medley of Jackson’s music, the singer was able to get in contact with the gymnast. During their FaceTime call, captured by TMZ, Jackson gushed over Frazier’s skills and even asked to be her student:

“I would one day love to tumble. And if I do, I would for you to teach me. I did it once in the video ‘The Pleasure Principle’ and the way it was shot, people didn’t think that it was me, but it was me doing the back flip. I would love for you to teach me. Hopefully I won’t break anything. But I just wanted to say thank you. Thank you for sharing your talent, it was so beautiful to see you tumble, it was really inspiring. It just inspired me to want to do more, do better, and be stronger. I loved it, absolutely loved it. […] I would love to meet you next time I’m in LA and just sit down and chat, I really would.”

Jackson’s words apparently inspired Frazier to “do more, do better, and be stronger” because after their call, Frazier headed straight to a meet and performed her best. Per TMZ’s report, Frazier recorded personal bests both on the beam and on the vault.

See Frazier’s floor routine above.